Green Eyed Monster
by Mvctar Avrelivs
Summary: PART FOUR OF SEVEN: In the fourth story in the 'Something In Common' series, Raven and Blackfire's relationship grows stronger, but so does Beast Boy's darker side along with those who would take advantage of the sssituation... Finished. WARNING: FEMSLASH
1. Open Hearts Open Wounds

**Green Eyed Monster**

All relevant disclaimers applying, this story is the fourth in a series that started with 'Something In Common'. Knowledge of that story, as well as the second and third in the series is essential for understanding the plot of this one.

**Chapter One: Open Hearts, Open Wounds**

Outlined by the early morning sun, Blackfire sped forward, her body still aching in several places from the week before from the beating her treacherous ex-lover Dawn gave her, and despite Raven's best attempts at healing, her healing process was hampered by the fact that human medical science had almost no knowledge of Tameranian physical processes.

Blackfire being Blackfire, and thus always on the lookout for the easiest way out (most of the time), she would have asked Raven for more help, but the Azerath's lack of knowledge of the expanded degree of her powers, as well as their mutual respect for each other prevented Blackfire from doing so.

However, they knew that despite the fact that she was now able to draw upon more power than before, there were still limits to what she could do. There had to be.

Just what those limits were- now that was the big question, wasn't it?

A dark shadow fell over her, and Blackfire narrowly avoided the giant black hawk's attack, diving into the trees below her, weaving between them in an attempt to lose her pursuer. Having flown on for a minute or two without incident, she looked behind her for any indication that she was still being hunted.

"Hmph, didn't think she'd give up that easily-" she began, when two ebony claws the size of Godzilla's crashed down behind her, clawing at the soil. Blackfire turned and flew upwards, and as the claws followed her, she took careful aim at the base of the grasping arms and let loose, and as they impacted, the limbs dissipated into nothingness.

In front of her, the giant hawk swooped in for another attack, and Blackfire looked up just in time to blast it to smithereens, but it had served its purpose, for it distracted Blackfire just long enough for a fast moving black fog to engulf her, concentrating itself around Blackfire to form a perfect dark sphere.

A few moments passed, before a purple starbolt burst through the orb's black shell, followed by another… and another… and a third one weakening the orb enough for Blackfire to break through, just in time to see another two giant claws heading towards her-

"Okay, Raven, you win, you win," Blackfire panted, holding up her hand tiredly as she brought herself down slowly. Most people would argue that the sane way to test Raven's newfound power would be for her to test them alone, far away from civilization. Had they known the true extent of those powers, they would have recommended she test them out far away from this universe, preferably right next to the throne of her father Trigon, thereby killing off two birds with one stone in any circumstance.

Blackfire wasn't most people. For one, her years of being alone had left her with a severe aversion to being alone, and since Raven was by far the closest she had ever been to anyone since her banishment from Tamaran, Raven ruefully admitted to herself that her privacy would be somewhat limited for a while.

Second, despite her protests to the contrary, Blackfire did have a sense of personal honour. And while it was atrophied from lack of use and warped further from a life of crime, it was still there. Even without it, however, Raven had the feeling that Blackfire would not have allowed her to do anything dangerous without being at her side.

Now if only she'd apply that sense of protection to herself, Raven thought. "Are you all right?" she asked, emerging from the nearby forest.

"All right? _All right?_ Raven, I feel great!" Blackfire said exuberantly, much to Raven's surprise. "And here I was thinking Earth was boring!"

"Boring?" Raven deadpanned.

"Of course Earth's boring," Blackfire replied, her eyes taking on an impish cast as she placed a friendly arm around Raven's waist. "Your whole planet's just one big yawn- well, except for the supervillains, the giant monsters-" Her voice softened as she placed a hand on Raven's cheek and drew her closer, "the company I keep…"

Raven drew her breath in sharply as Blackfire kissed her passionately, pressing her body against hers-

"But apart from that," Blackfire said, suddenly breaking off the kiss and nonchalantly resuming her nitpicking, "Earth is pretty much one of the most excruciatingly boring planets I've ever been to, and I've been to quite a few planets, trust me."

"Wh…what?" Raven asked, her disorientation not helped by the fact that she was currently trying to keep several different emotions under control at the same time.

"Weren't you listening? I was saying Earth isn't fun! And do you know why?" Running her hand through Raven's hair, she whispered, "Because you're obviously not having fun."

"What do you mean?"

"My feet are still on the ground, Raven," Blackfire said in mock petulance.

"We have kissed before, Blackfire."

"In the Tower, where any uncontrolled emotions might have done strange things to stranger people," Blackfire countered. "You see, Raven, while having most the fun to myself was fun the first few times out, it gets boring after a while. We're in the middle of a forest, Raven, loosen up!" Her eyebrows arched. "Unless of course, this is your way of saying I need to improve my kissing technique."

"It's not that," Raven countered. She sat down on a nearby stone, Blackfire sitting down beside her.

"So what is it then?" Blackfire asked. "Your emotions? You're afraid of letting your emotions run wild? I'm sorry to tell you this, but I think it's too late for that," she added, smirking.

Raven was not amused, to say the least. "You've seen what could happen if I lost control, Blackfire."

"And you think you can solve all your problems by hiding your emotions," Blackfire asked flatly.

"I'm not 'hiding' my emotions."

"Oh yeah, you're 'controlling' them."

"Do you have a better idea?" Raven asked.

"Yeah- stop running," Blackfire said, suddenly standing up in front of Raven and bending over to face her. "Trust me, Raven; you can't run away forever. You made me see that, remember?"

Raven stood there in shock for a moment as Blackfire's words sank in. "I'm sorry," she said, looking down. "I just don't want to hurt anybody."

"I'm sure you don't. That's what we're here for, aren't we?" Blackfire said, placing her arms around Raven. "And speaking of not hurting anyone, I'm first on that list, right?"

Raven sighed, but with a small smile on her face. Blackfire would be Blackfire; and wasn't that what she loved about her? "Yes, Blackfire, you're first on that list."

"Good." Blackfire pulled away. "And speaking of hiding emotions…"

"Yes?"

"Have you forgot what day it is?"

"…Oh."

"Come on, Raven, we're going to have to tell the others about us sooner or later- not that most of them don't already know."

"It's not exactly our best kept secret, is it?" Raven admitted ruefully.

"Only to Beast Boy and my eternally clueless sister," Blackfire confirmed.

"And you're not worried?"

"Naah- well, not about my sister. Beast Boy on the other hand…well, he's going to have to get used to it, just like everyone else." She looked at Raven archly. "Of course, it would be a lot easier saying what we would have to say if _someone_ would just use her powers to sense other people's emotions."

The flat look Raven gave her lover was all the answer Blackfire needed.

"All right, Raven; if that's the way you want it. Just don't say I didn't warn you," Blackfire said, lifting off into the air, when she felt Raven tugging on her hand. "What now?" She asked as she landed.

"Nothing," Raven said, drawing Blackfire closer. "It's just that…"

"Yes?" Blackfire whispered.

"There's nothing wrong with your kissing technique."


	2. Some Knowledge Is Power Power Corrupts

**Chapter Two: Some Knowledge Is Power – Some Power Corrupts**

"Alright, what's the problem?" Cyborg asked, coming into the rec room.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Robin admitted, shrugging with his one good arm.

"Raven did not tell you why she called us?" Starfire asked Cyborg.

"Nope- all she said was that she needed to see us," he said. "Hey, Beast Boy!" he called to the lone figure eating his breakfast at the dining table, his back to the other Titans. "You know why Raven wants us here?"

"Nope," Beast Boy said. _But I think I can figure it out,_ he thought, and he felt his blood boil, anger replacing the gloom which had accompanied him for the past week, as his mind found itself filled with the image of Raven and Blackfire sharing a kiss, illuminated by moonlight. _"How could you do this to me, Raven?"_ he remembered saying through his tears, _"I thought you loved me!"_

Unfortunately, his three friends were too busy speculating over why Raven had called them there to notice. "Come on, Cyborg, pranks aren't Raven's style," Robin was saying.

"Yeah, but she has been hanging around Blackfire a lot lately. Who knows what might have rubbed off on her," Cyborg said somewhat obliquely. Due to her nervousness, as well as Blackfire's impish sense of humor, the two of them agreed that both Robin and Cyborg be kept in the dark over the other's knowledge of their relationship.

"'Rubbed off on her'?" Robin asked, trying to hide his apprehension. Had Cyborg figured it out? "What do you mean by that?"

Picking up on Robin's uneasiness, but not the reason behind it, Cyborg hastily replied, "Well, er, what did you think I meant?

"I don't know," Robin replied, equally flustered. "What did you think I thought you meant?"

"I don't know- what did _you_ think I thought… er, you thought I… hold on a minute," Cyborg said, trying to get his mind up to mental speed, and failing miserably. "Er, what were we talking about again?"

Robin opened his mouth to answer, and closed it again.

"You were talking about the possibility that my sister may have influenced Raven's behavior," Starfire said in her boyfriend's defense. "And it is a possibility that I happen to find very disturbing," she added.

"Oh come on Starfire, I'm not that bad- well, at least as far as you can prove," Blackfire said as she entered, Raven beside her.

"Hey guys," Cyborg said, turning away from Robin to the two of them, relieved at being able to change the subject. "You two sleep in late?" he asked, and then mentally slapped himself when he realized what he had just asked.

Luckily for him (or so he thought), Raven was an expert at concealing her emotions, while he suspected Blackfire wouldn't blush if she suddenly crash-landed in front of a church choir naked.

For all he knew, she had.

"Hardly," Blackfire said, seemingly ignorant of what Cyborg had inadvertently implied, although the sly look she gave him said otherwise. "We just went out so Raven could practice her new powers. She needs to keep them in shape, after all." And then she whispered, "Among other things," her eyes shifting to a seemingly unperturbed Raven.

"Uh, okay," Robin said hesitantly, all too aware that Starfire was sitting next to him. "So, Raven, what's up? You said you needed to see us about something," he said, trying to change the subject.

"Oh come on, Robin, can't you guess? I thought you were the smart one," Blackfire said mischievously.

"Blackfire, that's enough," Raven said quietly, and Blackfire fell silent. Turning to her friends, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to keep her anxiety under control. "Some of you already know about this, but for those who don't… I have something to tell you, something about me and Blackfire. For the past week, we have- we have been…" she began hesitantly, before she found her throat tightening in nervousness

" 'In a relationship'? Was that what you were going to say?" Beast Boy spat out at them as he made quotation marks with his fingers. "Yeah, I saw the two of you up on the roof that night," he continued, in the shocked silence that followed. "You guys shoulda seen it- it was real romantic," he said, his voice growing quieter. "They were all alone, there was moonlight…" and then his voice rose, his anger now plainly evident, "These two being all so lovey-dovey."

"Beast Boy-" Raven began.

"Shut up, Raven!" Beast Boy shouted. "I thought we were- I thought- argh!" he yelled, running his hands through his hair in frustration. "And you!" he added, pointing to Blackfire. "You knew how I felt about Raven! I thought I could trust you!"

"Well, maybe you should stop thinking then," Blackfire said, on the verge of losing her own temper.

"Okay you two, that's enough!" Cyborg said, placing himself between the potential combatants. "Blackfire, you ain't gonna help nobody if you don't calm down, and the same goes for you Beast Boy- Beast Boy!" he yelled, but Beast Boy had already walked out of the room, the door shutting behind him.

"I'll go talk to him," Raven said, moving to follow Beast Boy.

"Why?" Blackfire asked. "Seems to me like you're the last person he'd want to see right now."

"I'll have to," Raven said. "Besides, you've got your own explaining to do," she said, pointing to Starfire, still sitting on the couch, mouth agape.

"My sister…and Raven?" she kept on asking herself, pointing slowly to Blackfire, and back to Raven.

(scene change)

"What do you want?" Beast Boy snapped as Raven caught up with him in the corridor as he was walking back to his room.

"To talk to you," Raven replied. When he showed no sign of stopping, Raven called out, "Beast Boy, wait!"

"Wait? Why?" he asked, finally stopping. "Just because you wanted to talk to me? Talk to me about what? How you betrayed me? Is that it?"

"I never betrayed you, Beast Boy."

"What are you talking about?"

"There was nothing to betray," Raven said. Despite her voice being as calm as it always was, there was a note of pity in it. "Beast Boy, you have to understand-"

"Understand? What's there to understand?" He turned away from Raven. "I thought we were friends."

"We still are, Beast Boy," Raven said quietly.

"Yeah Raven, 'friends'. We've known each other what, two years? Two years, and we're still friends. Blackfire stays here what, a month? And next thing I know, you're sucking face up on the roof." He laughed bitterly. "You know what, Raven? I think I do understand."

"Beast Boy-"

"Leave me alone, Raven, just leave me alone," Beast Boy said, holding up his hand and starting to walk away.

"Beast Boy," Raven said, taking his arm. "Beast Boy, we're still friends."

Beast Boy stopped for a moment before replying. "No, Raven, we're not friends. We're team mates, not friends- not anymore," he said, shrugging off Raven's hand and walking off, leaving a very hurt Raven in his wake.

(scene change)

"..and that's how Raven and me ended up," Blackfire finished as she sprawled herself across the couch. "Any questions?" she asked chirpily.

There was a second of silence, while the other Titans sat there, Blackfire's words slowly sinking in.

Then- "You knew too?" Cyborg and Robin said to each other in unison. "Why didn't you tell me? They didn't want me to tell you! Why didn't you want to tell us?" they said to Blackfire.

"Have you seen the looks on your faces?" she asked, pointing at her friends.

Before they could reply, Starfire spoke. "Sister, did you not bear affection for Dawn when she came here? And does the memory of that affection not bother you?"

"Bother me?" Blackfire asked. "Why should it bother me? She tried to kill me! What, are you saying that Raven's going to try to kill me too?" she asked incredulously.

"That's not what Starfire said, and you know it," Robin said. "She cares about Raven, we all do-"

"And you think I don't?" Blackfire asked angrily, starting to rise from her seat.

"Oh, we know you like Raven, you told us yourself," Cyborg said, "What we're wondering is for how long. From what you told us, you and Dawn were pretty tight for years, but even then, you decided to stay here with Raven, someone you've been with only a month or two."

Blackfire looked as if she was going to explode there and then, when she suddenly subsided. "You're right," she admitted, "It doesn't seem too good, does it? Let me see if I can explain."

She placed her hands together and leaned forward. "At first, yes, I did want to leave with Dawn. I wanted to travel the Galaxy again, see the stars, rob a few unsuspecting merchants, get rich, and to do it all with Dawn at my side. And do you know what? If Dawn had come right after we defeated the Puppet King, I would have accepted. Of course she would have killed me once there wasn't anyone to witness it, but I didn't know that."

"You still haven't answered the question," Robin said.

"Answers? You want answers? Well then, here you go: I changed, Robin. Whether you believe me or not, I changed. Back in the Galaxy, I was wanted one way or another, but it was all about what I was, not who. People wanted me because I was a criminal, or because I was the heir to the throne of Tamaran. But Raven…" she trailed off, before resuming, "It's too hard to explain- besides, I've never been too good with words, but I'll give you the short version: The reason I chose to stay here with Raven is the same reason I will always stay with her- out there, I feel wanted; with Raven, I feel needed. Hopefully, she feels the same way about me too. Got that?" she asked aggressively.

"Yes," Raven's voice said tiredly from the doorway behind her. "I think they did."

"What can I say, Raven," Blackfire bragged as she turned around. "I am a very persuasive spe- Raven? What happened?" she asked, all trace of humor disappearing from her voice. "It was Beast Boy, wasn't it?" she asked, walking over to the door he took, her fists bunched up, her eyes glowing.

"He just needs some time alone, Blackfire," Raven said, taking Blackfire's arm. "Please, don't make this worse," she asked.

Blackfire stood there for a moment, her eyes darting between Raven and the door.

"If that's what you want, Raven, no problem," she said, cooling off. "I guess I didn't want to seem, well…"

"Don't worry," Raven said, hugging Blackfire and kissing her lightly on the cheek. "You weren't mushy at all."

"Did I say mushy?"

"You didn't have to," Raven replied, her eyes closed.

"Ouch."

"Still have doubts, Cyborg?" Robin asked, his arms folded.

"Do you?" Cyborg retorted.

"A few, but…" he sighed, before turning back to Blackfire and Raven. "So, you two are really serious about this?"

"Pretty much," Blackfire replied. "Why?"

"Nothing," Robin replied. "Just wishing you two the best."

"Don't worry, I'll be good," Blackfire said.

"Really?" Cyborg asked.

"She will," Raven assured her friends. "She is."

"Wait!" Starfire called out. "Cyborg, Robin, do you really find the relationship between Raven and my sister acceptable?"

"Of course," Robin said, giving Cyborg a sideways look, while Raven felt Blackfire tense up a little. "Come on, Starfire, you seemed pretty okay with it when Dawn was here."

"I am," Starfire said, "I just do not want to see my sister or my best friend hurt if… if-"

"Don't worry, Starfire," Raven said. "I don't think that's going to happen."

Starfire still looked worried, but there was a glimmer of hope in her eyes as asked, "Are you sure, Raven?"

"Yes, Starfire, I'm sure."

"…Very well, Raven," Starfire said. "I will believe you, and I too will wish you the best of fortune."

"And don't worry about Beast Boy," Cyborg added. "Next week, he'll see some pretty girl on the street, and it'll all be over," he said confidently.

Raven looked up at him and smiled, but inside, she didn't think it would be that easy.

(scene change)

Beast Boy lay in his bed, staring at his ceiling. He thought he had his feelings well under control for the past week, but when he saw those two like that…

_They got it bad for each other, don't they?_ a voice in his mind asked

"Shut up," Beast Boy whispered.

_They got it real baaad…_

"Shut up," Beast Boy said to himself, a little louder this time.

_Maybe they're bad to each other too-_

"Shut up!" Beast Boy said trying to drown out the mocking voice he kept on hearing, hot tears streaming down his cheeks now. He thought that he had his emotions under control, but he could see now that if anything, he was very good at lying to himself.

And then, as he lay there crying, his mind full of regrets for something he knew at his basest level he had no control over, an idea formed in his mind. An idea that spoke to him in his own voice, and his own voice echoed.

"It isn't Raven's fault, It's not her fault at all" he said, as if speaking to a child, not even aware that he was speaking. "Raven's my friend. She had nothing to do with it. It's all Blackfire's fault," he said, his face darkening in anger.

"it's all Blackfire's fault…"


	3. Enemies, Old And New

**Chapter Three: Enemies, Old And New**

Beast Boy woke up to the sound of knocking. Looking at his clock he saw that he had been asleep the whole morning, if the green numbers saying 13:00 were any indication.

"Go away," Beast Boy said.

In response, the knocking on his door grew even more insistent. "Beast Boy, it is me, Starfire."

Beast Boy sighed in irritation as he rolled off his bed and proceeded to open his door. "What do you want, Starfire?" Beast Boy he asked curtly.

"I… I had originally wished to speak with you, Beast Boy," Starfire replied uncertainly. "But I see that is not what you desire, so I will come back later," she said, turning away dejectedly.

After she had taken a few steps however she heard Beast Boy ask, "Starfire, wait," and she turned to see Beast Boy running his hands through his hands ruefully. "Sorry for getting angry like that, Star. I've been having a bad day," he said.

"That is all right, Beast Boy," Starfire said. "I too had trouble trying to understand the news my sister and Raven gave me today."

"Yeah, I guess I got kinda emotional too."

"Yes."

"Yeah."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…So, Star, you were knocking on my door because?"

"Well," Starfire said hesitantly, "you had seemed so angry when you received the news about my sister and Raven's… relationship," Starfire began, clearly uncomfortable herself. "And I had thought that by waking you up and providing some pleasurable companionship, we might both become comfortable with them having feelings for each other."

"Can't argue with- wait," Beast Boy said, as a sudden realization made his blood run cold. "What do you mean by 'pleasurable companionship'?"

"Why, videogames of course!" Starfire said, holding up two controllers.

"Videogames?" Beast boy replied, unexplainably relieved. "Yeah, videogames, yeah! And since it's your first time, I'll go easy on you!"

He took a controller and walked off in the direction of the meeting room. Starfire however, paused, taking in what Beast Boy had said, blushed a little, then quickly followed him.

(scene change)

"And the winner is: Voltaire!" the Brainy Bash Brothers announcer declared.

"This is truly a fun game, Beast Boy!" Starfire exclaimed jubilantly, as she peered at the selection screen. "But you do not have to 'take it easy' on me anymore, Beast Boy; I believe I am already skilled enough to compete against you properly."

"Yeah, er… how about a few more games, huh? Just to make sure," Beast Boy said.

The next three games were along the lines of the first one, and it was in the hopes that Starfire would not repeat her request to 'truly test her skill' (as well as provide some much needed underhand distraction) that Beast Boy asked her "So, where's everybody else?"

"Robin is at the hospital," Starfire answered softly. "Dr. Hook said his arm braces required readjustment. Beast Boy," Starfire said, turning to him with a worried look on her face, "does that mean that Robin's arms may be readjusted? I like them the way they are."

"Don't worry, Star," Beast Boy said. "It just means his- what the?" he exclaimed, as Starfire still managed to pull off the Platonic Tectonic with he eyes still on him. "Look, he'll be okay," Beast Boy said, as he found himself back at the selection screen.

"If you say so, Beast Boy," Starfire replied, a note of doubt still in her voice.

"If I were you, I'd be more worried about what Raven and Blackfire are doing," Beast Boy said quietly. "What are they doing anyway?"

"Blackfire said that Robin asked them to go out on patrol," Starfire replied.

" 'Go on patrol'. Yeah, good one. Like we could trust anything she says."

"Beast Boy, I know you feel a great deal of dislike toward my sister, but-"

"But what? You think I'm being too hard on her? She deserves it."

"No she doesn't!" Starfire said, her own voice starting to rise. "My sister has changed! And even if she hasn't, why must you focus your anger on Raven? What has she done to you?"

"Hello, Earth to Starfire? She betrayed me!" Beast Boy said.

Or would have, had he not stopped himself in time. "Yeah, you're right," he replied instead, his hands pressing buttons aimlessly. "I kinda lost it today, huh?" He sighed, continuing, "But hey, what did you expect me to do? I've always liked her, you know. I mean, no offence, you guys are great too, but, well, Raven's special, you know? She made me feel special. Sure, she didn't laugh at my jokes, but… she's special," he said softly.

His voice rising, he continued, "And suddenly Blackfire comes in out of nowhere and ruins everything."

"But I thought the two of you were friends," Starfire said, over the noise of the computer game that none of them were really paying attention to anymore.

"That's what I thought too," Beast Boy said bitterly. "So did you, last time she visited, and what happened then? Look, I don't mind her betraying me. Well, not much. But I think we both know she's going to betray Raven again. I just wish Raven could see it."

"That is not true, Beast Boy! Blackfire would never betray Raven!"

"Oh really? How can you be so sure? You gotta admit, Starfire, none of us really know your sister."

He looked her straight in the eye as he finished, "Not even you."

To that, Starfire had no reply.

(scene change)

"Anything to report, Cyborg?" Raven asked as she flew above the city roads, Cyborg in the T-Car below her.

"Nope- seems like Jump City's nice and quiet."

Mischievously, Blackfire told them over the channel, "It doesn't have to be."

"I thought you said you weren't ready for that yet," Raven said calmly over the intercom.

"Not ready? Of course I'm ready!" Blackfire began, bewildered. "What's wrong with crashing a few- wait, what did you say?" Blackfire asked, surprised.

"She's got you there, Blackfire," Cyborg laughed as he turned a corner. "Guess you'll have to get used to it."

"Get used to it? I'm Princess Komand'r, heir to the throne of the Tameranian Empire! I don't get used to people, people get used to me," Blackfire said haughtily as she flew to the rendezvous point, to see that Raven had beaten her to it.

"Now if you'll excuse me, Cyborg, I have something I have to do," she said, flying to Raven.

"I'll bet," Cyborg answered. "Cyborg, out."

"Blackfire," Raven acknowledged, as Blackfire stopped in front of her.

"Ha, ha, very funny," Blackfire said. "You know, you're the last person I would have expected that sort of thing from."

"So… you can do that to me, but I can't do it to you?" Raven deadpanned, an eyebrow raised.

"Why Raven," Blackfire said in pretend shock, "how could you say such things? People would blame me for being a bad influence on you- not that I mind, of course."

Raven crossed her arms as she flew to Blackfire. "You were right," she sighed, "you will take getting used to."

"What, you're having second thoughts about us?" Blackfire said.

"Would it matter if I did? You're a Tameranian princess, after all," Raven replied.

"Good, remember that," Blackfire replied, softly, as in one swift motion she placed her arms around Raven and pressed their bodies together…

"Whoo hoo!" someone shouted from below them. "Do it again!" someone added, along with a few "Go for it!"s and even a few "Whopp-whoop-whoop!"s to the more generic whistles and catcalls from the other people there..

"I was wondering why you picked Jump City University as our rendezvous point," Raven sighed.

"Shh, Raven," Blackfire said, rubbing her cheek against Raven's. "You're spoiling the moment. No wait, _he's _spoiling the moment," she said, pointing to an old man in a white cowboy hat and flamboyant red and blue jacket.

"God hates fags!" he screamed. "You hear that? God hates fags, you hellbound ho- huh wha!" he said as a globe of dark energy enveloped him and dumped him in a nearby fountain.

For a moment, silence, as the crowd stared at the figure now wallowing in the pool. Then-

"Whoo hoo!"

"Do it again!"

"Go for it!"

"Whoop-whoop-whoop!"

And yes, whistles and catcalls.

"Oh Raven, how could you do such a thing! I thought I knew you so well!" Blackfire sighed melodramatically, her hand held to her forehead.

"You're a bad influence," Raven deadpanned.

"I know, I know," Blackfire replied smugly. "But at least I try to be more entertaining than him," she added, pointing to the spluttering preacher trying to climb out of the fountain. "You see? Now _that's_ funny."

Then-"Raven, Blackfire, bad news," Cyborg said from their communicators.

"What is it, Cyborg?" Raven asked.

"Just got a call from the police- there's a hostage situation at Jump City Museum. Starfire and Beast Boy've already got the alert and they're gonna meet us there." The tension in his voice seemed to intensify as he added, "Whoever they are, the police say they've asked for us specifically."

Raven and Blackfire looked at each other. "It's definitely a trap," Blackfire said.

"Does it matter?" Raven answered.

"…No, I guess not," Blackfire answered. Then, to her surprise, Raven kissed her. It was a short, light one on the lips, but it was enough for both of them.

"Thank you," Raven said.

"Guess you're a bad influence on me too," Blackfire said, as the two of them flew off towards the museum. "Not that that's a bad thing," she added.

(scene change)

The Titans soon arrived in front of the Jump City Museum, a large structure that looked like it was somehow teleported from Gotham City. Around it, a ring of police cars and news vans formed a chaotic wall of metal. "That was quick," Lieutenant Gordon Franz said, as the T-Car pulled up near him.

"It's our policy: less than 30 minutes, and they'll be free," Cyborg quipped, stepping out of the T-Car.

"I wish it was that easy," Lt. Franz said.

"What do you mean?" Beast Boy asked. "We go in there, take out a few bad guys, rescue the hostages, and that's it."

"You know what, Beast Boy? Normally, it would drive me nuts that someone couldn't spot such an obvious trap, but since it's you, well…" Blackfire said.

"Hey, how 'bout we trade Blackfire for the hostages?" Beast Boy seethed.

"Awww, did I hurt widdle Beast Boy's feelings?"

"That's enough, both of you," Raven warned.

"Is this going to be a problem?" Lt. Franz asked, as he watched Beast Boy and Blackfire glare at each other.

"Nah, they just had an argument this morning," Cyborg said, trying to downplay the lieutenant's worries. "You said there might be a problem?" he added, trying to change the subject.

The lieutenant nodded. "I'll get straight to the point: I don't think that what we have here aren't your regular, run-of-the-mill criminals."

"What do you mean?"

"According to the few eyewitness reports we have," Lt. Franz said, "they seemed to move with military precision, come out of nowhere, bypass one of the most advanced security systems in existence and then take over the museum armed with nothing but long knives. Not to mention the fact that we have observed at least twenty of them, all in the kind of black bodysuits you see in spy movies."

"And they want us here."

"That's about the only thing they've said since the siege started," the lieutenant confirmed. "We tried to find a way to get in, but no matter where we go, they've got people there." Franz shook his head. "It's like they've got a goddamn army in there."

"But you don't know who they are?"

"Nope; all they said was that they wanted the Titans, and even that was from a 911 call received from within the museum. Nothing obvious."

"What do we do now, Cyborg?" Starfire asked from behind him.

"I don't know, Star," Cyborg admitted. "Tell the truth, I wish Robin was here."

"I too wish he was here," Starfire said softly, "but he isn't, Cyborg, and Raven is too busy trying to make peace between my sister and Beast Boy, and- and, I know not what to do."

"You've got a point there, your Highness," Lt. Franz began, "but you have to cut him some slack. That museum's security systems better than that at Fort Knox; not even a cockroach can get through."

"You wanna bet on that, lieutenant?" Cyborg said, as a plan began to form. He turned to the lieutenant. "You got any schematics of that place?"

(scene change)

They didn't know where the other hostages were held. To be brutally honest, most of them didn't care. Their world consisted of the basement they were held in, the only light being the circle cast by the fluorescent above them, the masked, black-clad terrorists pacing around them with military- no, make that robotic precision, while in the darkness behind them, the sounds of other terrorists rummaging through old boxes could be heard.

And of course, themselves. Everything, and everyone else didn't matter. That was how it was for most of them.

"Damn it, if someone doesn't shut that guy up, I will!" one man said, the target of his wrath a man in priestly robes, whose barely audible praying had apparently infuriated him.

"Hey man, leave him alone," a teenager said. "He ain't doin' nothing wrong."

"Listen, if he doesn't shut up I'll-"

He fell silent with terror, as the sound of the terrorists' clockwork marching stopped, to be replaced with the soft sound of eight blades sliding out of oiled scabbards at the same time.

He got the hint. He sat down quietly. The knives slid back, as exactly as they had been taken out. The terrorists began their slow march again-

The lights went out.

For a few terrified moments, the hostages thought, to a man, that they had somehow died, that the terrorists had killed them, and this was how death was like.

Then the museum's emergency power supply kicked in and flooded the basement with red light. Above them, two more identically clad terrorists examined a sabotaged fuse box.

The conclusion?

The Titans were inside.

But they knew that already.

In the basement, one terrorist turned around, only to see in the dim red light a bunch of replica chains for the medieval exhibits flying towards him, powered by Raven's dark energy. The impact caused the chains to wrap itself around him, and they flew backwards, the heavy chain no longer carried by Raven's energies, but momentum.

One terrorist moved towards the hostages- "Don't even think about it, buddy," Cyborg said, his laser arm charged.

"You wouldn't dare," the terrorist said, his mask garbling his voice.

"Try me," Cyborg said.

The terrorist moved forward-

and was immediately thrown back as Cyborg's laser cannon threw him back-

"Don't worry," Cyborg said, "it's set to 'stun'."

into a pile of boxes, one of which spilled its contents out: a collection of medieval melee weaponry. As the Titans watched in horror, the terrorist was buried under a massive pile of weapons; if they didn't kill him outright, their weight would have crushed him outright.

And then, before the Titans' and the hostages' eyes, the terrorist's body dissipated into a cloud of black smoke.

"Well," one of the other terrorists said, reaching for his mask, "looks like I won't need I this anymore."

"Bloody nuisance it was anyway," the other said in an all too familiar voice, before the two of them turned to the Titans.

"Ah, hello, Raven," Legion said. "So nice to see you again."


	4. Doors Close, Doors Open

**Chapter Four: Doors Close, Doors Open**

Daylight streamed into the museum floor as a small mouse crept out of a small crevice in the Museum wall, blinking as its eyes adjusted to the light. This little creature was exactly the same as any other mouse, with perhaps a few nitpickers commenting on its bright green color.

Beast Boy prepared to change back into human form. By this time, his friends must have got into the basement, and-

The sound of running caused Beast Boy to scamper behind a suit of armor and watched three of black-clad terrorists run past it, black machetes drawn.

_Wait, machetes?_ he thought. _Weren't terrorists supposed to have, you know, guns, and stuff?_

In fact, the only enemy that he remembered using machetes was… _Oh no._

A sinking feeling of dread freezing his blood, Beast Boy ran after the Legions, dodging between exhibits, trying to remain unseen.

Raven may not care about him, but he cared for her, and that was all that mattered.

Wasn't it?

Pushing the thought out of his mind, Beast Boy kept following the Legions, pushing his mouse form to its limit.

He got as far as the main hallway when the 'terrorists' suddenly turned around and a pair of black boots stepped out from behind a passageway in front of him.

"Why hello, Beast Boy," Legion sneered. "Long time no see," he said, before suddenly driving his knife into Beast Boy.

Or rather, the spot where Beast Boy was right before he jumped aside, Legion's blade burying itself in the polished marble floor. With almost eerie precision, the other three Legions moved to encircle Beast Boy, now in human form.

"Only four of you?" Beast Boy asked with false bravado. "Sorry, but I kinda expected, well, more."

At first the Legions stared at him incredulously, before breaking into laughter. "You wanted more, Beast Boy?" a voice said from the second floor balcony.

Beast Boy looked upwards, and his blood froze cold with terror. Up on the balcony, were at least fifty Legions.

"Well then my friend," one of them said. "You've got more."

(scene change)

Raven shuddered as a group of Legions renewed their assault upon the slow-moving shield that she had erected around herself to protect the hostages, their black blades sending up arcane sparks each time they hit it.

"Stay away from my friend!" Starfire yelled as she rained starbolts upon the attacking Legions, blasting them away one by one-

"Starfire watch out!" Raven shouted from behind the shield-

Starfire turned only to see a Legion jump from an empty shelf behind her, blades raised to stab her-

only to find himself slammed into the shelf by Blackfire, causing the heavy shelf to topple backwards, crushing another group of Legions under it. "Bad move," Blackfire said, before she slammed her forehead into the Legion's skull a second before she dropped the dissipating body to the floor.

"Sister, you have saved my life!" Starfire said joyfully.

"Hey, you're my sister- if anyone's going to kill you, it's going to be me," Blackfire joked (or so Starfire hoped). "Raven, you all right?"

"I'll be fine," Raven said. "You two go help Cyborg!"

"But what if-"

"I can take care of myself," Raven said, although her strained voice implied otherwise.

"Raven-"

"GO!" Raven said, and for a moment, the shield faltered. "Please, Cyborg needs your help, and your presence could disturb my concentration."

"Why thank you," Blackfire said, smiling. "Well, Starfire, what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

(scene change)

Beast Boy dodged yet another attack from a Legion, and desperately looked around for a way to escape. None but his largest animal forms would have made any useful impact here, but all of Beast Boy's plans went out the window when he realized that he had the museum's exhibits to worry about.

Of course, they were also the only things that were keeping the Legions safe from Beast Boy's full wrath. The Legions knew it too, but unlike Beast Boy, they didn't need to change their form to prove dangerous. It was only a matter of time.

And so it was, that despite Beast Boy's successful attempts to evade the Legions' attacks, that he soon found himself corralled in the middle of the hallway, surrounded by Legions advancing towards him in a slow, deliberate march, long knives drawn. And when they closed into striking range, they moved with snakelike speed to stab-

"Bloody hell," they said in unison, looking downwards at the blades in each others' chests. "We should of seen that coming."

And through the tangled mess of arms and metal, a small green mouse ran into the forest of legs in front of it. And as Beast Boy ran from space to space, he found that the confusion did more damage to the crowded Legions than a T-Rex ever could as they futilely struggled to kill the mouse, maneuver and refrain from stabbing each other at the same time.

_I'm out!_ he thought, as he ran out from the Legion crowd. _I'm- what?_

Beast Boy found himself facing the entrance of the museum, the entrance to the basement, where he had been heading directly across the hall behind him.

And in between the two of them, still dangerous despite their depleted numbers, a small Legion army rushing towards him, confident that they had the advantage.

However, they failed to see the obvious fact that Beast Boy now had some running room., and charging forward in the form of a cheetah, Beast Boy leaped at the Legions, just as they had expected him to do.

What they did not expect him to do, a moment before he hit them, was to change into a tortoise in midair. A five hundred pound Galapagos Tortoise.

(scene change)

Cyborg backed himself against a corner, his laser cannon blasting away at the serried ranks of Legions in front of him. Despite their superior numbers, the combination of Cyborg's skill and high-tech heavy weaponry proved to be more than enough to keep them at bay. "Is that the best you got?" he jeered. "Come on, if you guys wanna be target practice so bad, you shoulda at least painted some bullseyes on your uniforms! At least that way you'll be _official_ targets!"

Suddenly, from behind the front ranks, a Legion jumped out with both blades drawn, and before Cyborg could do anything, his machete sliced through the armor, only narrowly missing the circuitry.

Reflexively, Cyborg brought his gun to bear down upon his latest attacker, and at such close range, even the stun setting was enough to send the Legion's crumpled body dissolving as it flew backwards.

But as Cyborg turned back to face the Legions, he was shocked to find, that in the split second it had taken him to repel that attack, the Legions had managed to close to within close combat range, and Cyborg could only watch as they prepared to hack at him-

There was a sudden bright flash of light, and the Legions immediately in front of him disintegrated into black smoke. "Took you two long enough!" he said smiling, as he saw Blackfire and Starfire form up behind the Legions, firing starbolt salvo after starbolt salvo into the Legions' ranks.

"Aw, Cyborg, aren't you nice," Blackfire said, flinging another bolt at the approaching Legions. "Maybe-"

"Sister!" Starfire shouted, pointing behind Blackfire, who turned quickly and blasted a Legion leaping out at her, only to see as the black cloud dissipated, a group of Legions running toward the direction of the stairwell, carrying several artifacts.

Blackfire prepared to blast them down as well, when the Legions were thrown to the ground and sent sprawling, struck down by several cannonballs cast into their midst.

As one being, all the Legions turned to face whoever it was who had dared try stop them.

They didn't have to wait long.

"Azerath Metrion Xinthos!" Raven yelled, the familiar incantation bringing a ladder spinning into, and then smashing lengthwise into the Legion horde, cutting a swathe through their already decimated ranks. She followed up with another

"Oookay-I guess I shouldn't forget your birthday," Blackfire quipped, seeing the devastation Raven wrought upon the Legions. She turned back to Raven, but what she wanted to say froze in her throat when she saw what was creeping behind Raven.

_It was all a distraction_, Blackfire realized, as she shouted out a warning to Raven.

But it was too late. One of the Legions behind Raven struck her on the head with the butt of his weapon, and moved to grab her as she fell down, unconscious-

Suddenly, a group of Legions fell down the stairwell, the cause of which soon became apparent. With a loud bellow, a green rhino trampled its way down and proceeded to charge into the Legions as Blackfire swooped down and snatched Raven from the stunned Legion's arms, narrowly missing each other by a few inches.

Those few Legions who were not brought down by the rhino's initial charge, were left stunned, but not for long, as Cyborg and Starfire brought their weapons to bear upon them.

"Aw crap," they said, in an oddly comical chorus, and in less than a second, they found themselves struck by a barrage of starbolts and laser beams. Battered and broken, what few stragglers who were left soon found themselves outgunned, with predictably fatal results.

(scene change)

Or at least that's what Blackfire told Raven when she woke up on a few minutes later. They were on a bench across the street from the museum, the Jump City Park behind them, and Raven was lying down with her head on Blackfire's lap. In front of them, the scene seemed only marginally more chaotic as medical staff attended to the hostages, the police keeping the press away.

"In short, we won- as usual," she said, before adding, in a more serious tone, "You all right?"

"I'll be fine, don't worry," Raven replied, rubbing the back of her head to try relieve the throbbing pain she felt.

"I hope this isn't going to be some kind of tradition between you and Legion," Blackfire said, a familiar mischievous glint coming into her eyes.

"Hey Starfire," she called out, seeing her sister approach. "Did you break anything important?"

"No I did not, Blackfire," Starfire huffed, "and neither did any of us."

"We didn't break anything? All that fighting, and we didn't break _anything_? Raven, did you hear that? What a wasted day."

"Well, you did break some of their shelves, as well as seriously messed up the place," Cyborg said as he walked up to them, a distinguished looking elderly man in tow.

"if it makes you feel any better, they were _expensive_ hardwood shelves," the man said, extending his hand. "Henry Jones. I'm the curator of this museum."

"You sure we didn't break anything expensive?" Blackfire asked.

"Surprisingly, no. Whoever it was that decided to rob us picked the worst place in the museum to raid. All we had stored in that particular section of basement was just used to store replicas of historical artifacts, basic equipment for the museum, that sort of thing. As your friend said, the only things that did suffer damage were a few shelves, replicas, and a scuffed floor or two."

"Well, that was considerate of Legion," Blackfire said.

"There wasn't anything dangerous in there?" Raven asked, surprised.

"I don't think so, but I'm still having an inventory check done. If anything's lost, you'll be the next to know. Nobody messes around with my museum," he said, before glancing at the museum. "You know, someone once said I belonged in a museum. Looks like they were right." he mused, a faraway look in his eyes. Then he laughed softly, and turned back to the Titans. "Sorry," he said, waving off their bemused expressions. "An old man's memories, you understand."

"Speaking of memories," Cyborg said, looking around, "anyone remember where Beast Boy went?"

"Right here," Beast Boy said, walking out of the museum.

"Where were you?"

"I thought I saw someone try to sneak out the back of the museum, and I tried to check it out."

"Yeah, right," Blackfire snorted. "You sure you weren't running away from what I was planning to do to you?"

"Huh? What did I do?" Beast Boy asked angrily, as the other Titans looked at Blackfire, similarly confused.

"Hello? You almost got Raven killed!" Blackfire said, gesturing to the Azerath lying down on her lap. Raven tried to defuse the situation, but it was too late.

"What are you talking about? I saved her!"

"You charged right at her!" Blackfire retorted.

"This does not look good," the curator said, backing away slowly as the other Titans moved in to try calm things down.

And while all that was happening, a homeless man got up from the bushes behind the bench, where he had been lying down. Unnoticed in the general hubbub, he hobbled unsteadily off, a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels in his hand that became slightly emptier as he took a swig.

Not that alcohol would have any effect on him apart from slaking his thirst, but Legion felt that it paid to keep up appearances. Besides, it was a good thing alcohol didn't interfere with him; he had a lot to think about.

Especially the way Blackfire and Beast Boy seemed to be fighting over Raven. _Yesss_, he thought, taking another drink from his bottle, _that conversssation cccertainly proved interesssting._

_Very interesssting indeed._


	5. Take Five

**Chapter Five: Take Five**

"Come in," Dr. Hook said in response to whoever was knocking on the ward door.

"Robin!" Starfire squealed happily, running past the doctor and immediately catching Robin in a tight hug as he was getting down from the hospital bed.

"Hey Starfire," Robin replied, returning the embrace.

"Oh, Robin, I missed you so much," Starfire told him.

"You're welcome," Hook replied wryly, seeing the exchange. "Be careful, Starfire, don't hug him too hard- he's broken enough bones as it is."

"Don't worry, doctor, I'm okay," Robin said.

"And getting better by the minute, I'll bet," the doctor said, consulting the chart he was holding. "You know, Robin, maybe your friend Raven should consider a career in medicine; we could really use that magic of hers." Turning back to Robin, he continued, "Alright, Robin, remember; although we're discharging you now, you're not in perfect shape. Get some rest, okay?"

"Sure."

"Starfire, you make sure he does that. Make sure he doesn't overdo anything."

"I will do that, doctor," Starfire exclaimed. "I will make sure that Robin never gets hurt again!"

"Okay, maybe not that much," Doctor Hook said.

(scene change)

In his office, Henry Jones Jr. shook his head as he wrote out the damage claims and inspected the estimates the contractors gave for repairing the museum, his migraine acting up again. Thank God for insurance. Even though the exhibits were thankfully spared, the damage to the museum's floor and basement, not to mention the increased hazard pay he was sure he'd end up paying to the few employees willing to stay, meant that for he and the museum would soon experience the 'cashless economy'.

"And I had to go drink from that Grail,' he mused to himself.

The beeping of his cell phone interrupted his musings. "Sir?" one of the aforementioned employees said, in a tone that asked 'You've got a bad day, and I don't want to make it worse, but…'

"Yes?" Henry asked.

"Seems that something _was _stolen, sir. Er, it seems like someone messed up the logistics, and the 'Sunken City' stuff was put in- in 'that' basement," she said, clearly still uncomfortable with her experience

Great. Just what he needed. "Alright, alright, I'll go talk to the police and the Titans about it." Looking around to make sure nobody was listening in, he whispered, "Anything… special about what was lost?" he whispered, not even willing to say the word out loud.

"I'll need to do some research first, sir, but I don't think it was," she said.

"What?" Henry asked, surprised. "What was it?"

"From my count, it looks like some kind of sundial."

"A sundial? What would a terrorist want with a sundial?"

"It's not a sundial, sir; I only said it looks like one. As I said sir, I'll have to do some research first."

"You do that."

Ending the call, he sighed. Metahuman terrorists (there was still some confusion on this count) had broken into his museum and stolen something.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," he said to himself. He typed into his computer and called up the data on the stolen artifact. He peered at the picture.

His knowledge of ancient languages had been rusty to begin with, and with an artifact as ancient and as… 'esoteric' as this one, he was even worse. But he could try.

"R-" he began, then peered at it closer, trying to decipher the only word etched on the metallic circle. It took some work, but he finally had it.

"R'lyeh," he read.

(scene change)

Legion slunk back to the ruined warehouse he was using as a temporary hideout. Despite the reconstruction efforts going on through the district, the area was still mostly ruined buildings and rubble, and naturally, a place with that many potential hiding places had the much city's criminal element as well as homeless swarming over it like the vermin they were, or at least that's the way Legion would have described it.

Not that he minded it much though.

Still in his vagrant disguise, he walked through the throng of homeless people he had taken to hiding among, his trophy under his arm. Despite his apparent victory however, his prize took second place in his mind compared to his humiliation. The Titans should have been destroyed by now; yet today he found himself 'winning' only through a lucky escape past the throng around the museum.

His luck; not his skill. And of all the creatures in the multiverse, demons knew best of all that you can never rely on luck. Sooner or later, you were going to fall, and Legion knew it.

There is weakness in all things, Legion knew. Even him, and it pained him to admit it. At first he refused to believe that a group of adolescent teenagers could best Trigon's finest; the idea had seemed inconceivable. And yet, today those selfsame teenagers defeated him a second time. Once was humiliating enough, but twice…

He shook the treacherous thought from his head. He was the greatest of Trigon's servants, and he was going to carry out his master's will, and if his suspicions proved true- well then, he had a chance to redeem himself, if not in his eyes, then in his Master's.

There is weakness in all things. And now he believed that he had found the Titans'. And he would use it to destroy them, destroy them utterly.

He wouldn't believe otherwise.

"No," he hissed to himself angrily. "Thisss isss their weaknesss. Thisss isss their weaknesss!" he repeated.

He looked behind him, towards the slowly darkening evening sky, and continued quietly, "It hasss to be," and was unaware of the desperation in his voice.

(scene change)

"Okay Cy, What is it?" Beast Boy asked, as he and Cyborg were heading back to the Tower in the T-Car.

"I said something?" Cyborg asked.

"You're going to," Beast Boy replied, sure that whatever Cyborg was going to say, he wasn't going to like it.

And he was right.

"It's about Blackfire-" Cyborg began.

"Oh, now I get it," Beast Boy said, looking out the window. "You're on _her_ side too now."

"Well, she is a Titan," Cyborg said, trying to reason with Beast Boy.

"Not from where I'm sitting."

"What is wrong with you, man? She saved your life, remember? She saved all our lives!"

"Look, Cyborg, I don't want to argue, okay?"

"Too late, BB. Come on, Beast Boy, couldn't you at least _try _to get along with her?" Cyborg asked.

""What, so now it's my fault she's such a-"

"Beast Boy," Cyborg warned.

"Well, she is!"

"Look, Beast Boy, even if she is, Blackfire's on our side, remember?"

"No she's not!" Beast Boy insisted. "She's like, her own side, and there's our side, and we're side by side, and, um… I think that's it. Come on Cy, you know what I'm talking about!"

"Oh, I do, Beast Boy, I do," Cyborg said.

Beast Boy's ears pricked up more than usual at Cyborg's remark. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's not Blackfire that's the problem with you-"

"Don't go there-"

"-it's Raven, isn't it?"

Beast Boy glared at Cyborg for a few uncomfortable seconds, then sat down in his seat. He didn't know what made him feel worse: the fact that Cyborg was actually taking Blackfire's side, or that he was

(scene change)

"Riiight," Blackfire said to Raven as they landed on the front steps of Titans Tower. "I'm sorry, Raven, I must have been hit on the head really hard back there, because the way I remember it, Beast Boy started it! I'm just the one who's going to finish it, that's all."

Raven stopped at the main doors for a moment, and sighed. "Maybe it was a mistake," she whispered.

"Mistake?" Blackfire asked. There was something in Raven's voice…

"Yes, Blackfire, a mistake," Raven said. "We're a mistake."

"Raven-" Blackfire began, before her mouth dried up with shock- no, not shock. Terror.

Not waiting for Blackfire to continue, Raven pressed, "Yes, Blackfire, he started it. So what? Does it mean you have to keep it going?"

"Come on, Raven," Blackfire said, trying to rally herself. "It's funny…right?"

"No, Blackfire, it's not funny," Raven said. "Can't you see that you're hurting him, Blackfire? Can't you see you're hurting me!

"…I'm sorry, Raven," Blackfire said, in a subdued tone.

"It isn't a contest, Blackfire. Yes, Beast Boy doesn't like you," Raven continued, "but it's not as if you're trying to make it better. I'm tired of you two trying to hurt each all the time." She gave Blackfire a look that seemed to bore into her. "Do you remember how it felt to be alone, Blackfire?" Raven asked conversationally.

"What, are you saying I don't know how it's like to be alone?" Blackfire asked, incredulity creeping into her fear. ""Look-"

"So was I," Raven interrupted, in the same calm tone. "Then I met the Titans, and while I don't feel about him the way he wants me to, Beast Boy was, and still is very important to me, and I know you can see that." She turned away from Blackfire, her voice subtly breaking as she continued, "That's why it hurts so much when you two argue. I hoped that you were better than that. Maybe… maybe I was wrong." She sighed. "I need to be alone for a while, Blackfire. I need to think about us," Raven said, going inside the Tower.

Standing outside, her feet seemingly welded to the concrete steps as she tried not to cry, Blackfire felt cold.

So very cold.


	6. It Gets Better, It Gets Worse

**Chapter Six: It Gets Better, It Gets Worse**

"Thanks for all this stuff, Mr. Fixit. I really appreciate this," Cyborg said, placing the last box on the garage floor, as the door behind Cyborg's biomechanical friend closed and shut out the night sky.

"It is the least I could do, for all the help you've given," Mr. Fixit said. "To tell you the truth, I'm not going to miss most of this anyway," he said, picking up what had previously been a flying buzzsaw. "I'd like to leave America with a clean slate."

"You _sure_ you won'miss anything here? I know I would," Cyborg asked.

Mr. Fixit nodded. "What do I have to miss, apart from having enough weaponry to nearly level the city and not being able to guard it myself? You saw for yourself first hand what my inventions could do, and with Legion back in the city…No, Cyborg, I have made my decision. A quarter of all my inventions to Wayne Industries, another quarter to your father's company, and the last half to the Titans. At least then I can be sure my creations are in safe hands before I leave."

"Don't worry, Mr. Fixit, we'll take good care of your stuff," Cyborg reassured him. "You need any help packing?"

"Not really; all of my essential equipment should already be in London," Mr. Fixit said. "I just…"

"You _are_ going to miss this place, aren't you?" Cyborg said knowingly.

"This place, Cyborg? No, I won't miss it," he said, picking up a piece of machinery. "You cannot miss things or places, it is not healthy," he continued, placing the device inside a box. "Do you know, Cyborg, what the worst part about being human is?"

"What is it?"

"Being human." Sighing reluctantly, Mr. Fixit held out his hand. "From what I hear, the agency I will work for does not encourage socializing. I will see you, when I see you," he said.

"Okay, then," Cyborg said, reluctantly holding out a hand.

"I… I am sorry, Cyborg. This isn't something I would like to do, but-"

"Hey man, we'll understand- at least, the others' would as soon as I tell them."

"Are you sure you would not like me to tell them?" Mr. Fixit asked.

"Nah, leave that to me," Cyborg said. "They've kinda had a hard day, and the last thing they need to hear is that one of our friends is moving 'across the pond'," he continued in a passably good 'British toff' accent.

"If you say so, Cyborg," Mr. Fixit said, smiling. "Good night."

"Seeya."

After Mr. Fixit had left, Cyborg decided to take a look inside one of the boxes…

(scene change)

"Cyborg?" Raven asked as she came into the garage. "Cyborg, can I-"

And then stopped in her tracks as she saw what Cyborg was doing. Around the garage, all manner of mechanical and electronic equipment was strewn around, while the T-Car was on a lift, half its contents spread out on a nearby worktable. Behind him in one of the vehicle bays, the T-Sub had an equally 'work in progress' look.

"Hey Raven!" Cyborg called out cheerfully as he stepped out from under the T-Car and walked over to a stack of boxes. "Need anything?"

"An explanation would be nice," Raven said uncertainly. "What's happening here?"

Cyborg's face fell as he remembered just how all his new toys ended up in the garage. "Oh, that, well… Mr. Fixit's leaving."

"Leaving?" Raven asked, her own problem temporarily overwhelmed by her shock. "Why?"

"Basically, he said that what with Godzilla, Legion and whatnot all getting in line to trash the city, it's not safe for him or the city for him as long as he stays; too many badguys want his stuff. So tomorrow morning, he's going to Britain," Cyborg said as matter-of-factly as he could.

"Britain?"

"He said that he got a good offer from MI R; it's some British secret organization thing," Cyborg told her. "It's probably for the best anyhow; there's too many psychos in this city to risk leaving all that hi-tech weaponry around."

"And moving to Britain is safer?"

"Well, when you think about it, yeah," Cyborg said, walking back under the T-Car. "I mean, what's England got? Apart from Mad Mod, and nobody's seen him for months!" He raised his voice over the sound of his welding torch as he went on, "What can I say- America's the land of opportunity. So what brings you here, Rae?"

"What?"

"Come on Raven, I can see I'm not the only guy with problems around here," Cyborg said, as he laid down his welding torch and went to sit beside her.

"…It's about Beast Boy and Blackfire," Raven said.

"Oh,_ them_," Cyborg sniffed. "I know what you mean; I mean, you'd think Beast Boy'd get it out of his system already-"

"It's not just him, Cyborg," Raven said.

"What do you mean?"

"It's Blackfire; we- we had a fight."

"And let me guess, it didn't turn out good."

"That's an understatement," Raven told him.

"Geez, Rae, I'm sorry. What started it- wait, it was about Beast Boy, wasn't it?"

"It's not his fault, Cyborg," Raven said defensively, before sighing, her initial frustration spent. "Not all of it, anyway," she conceded. "It's just that I wish they would just get along."

"Hurts to see 'em fight that much, don't it?" Cyborg asked gently.

Raven nodded. "I just wish they could see that," she told him. "But they're just too busy fighting each other to care," she said in quiet frustration, before turning to Cyborg. "And the worst part is that it's all my fault."

"Oh really? Since when's wanting to be happy your fault? Look, Raven, you got to stop beating yourself up over this. Yeah, they're fighting over you, so what? It just shows that they care about you, Rae- they just can't see it yet. You gotta make them see."

"How?"

"First thing, patch things up with Blackfire. I don't really know what you two argued about, and I don't want to, but if you really love her, you'll love her enough to say those three magic words."

"I love you?" Raven asked, feeling uncertain.

" 'I-am-sorry'. Got that from my dad," he told her, winking.

"And what about Beast Boy?" Raven asked.

"You're just going to let him know how much Blackfire means to you," Cyborg said simply. "Sure, he won't like it, but- look, Rae, I don't like his cooking much, and whenever it's his turn to cook, I complain like nobody's business, but I still eat that darned tofu. And do you know why? 'Cos he's my friend, that's how it goes, you get what I mean?"

"I…I think so."

Cyborg nodded, and his voice became a little softer as he continued, "Look Rae, what I'm trying to say is that if he cares about you as much as I think he does, he'd be eating at Kentucky Fried Cattle than try break you two up."

"You sure?"

" 'Course. Sure, sometimes Beast Boy gets a little emotional, and sometimes he does something really dumb, but hey, so do we. Besides, he's a Titan, and we look out for each other."

"I can see that," Raven said, smiling. "Thanks, Cyborg."

"Anytime, Rae, anytime. You okay now?"

Raven nodded. "I'm fine," she replied, getting up. "Looks like I have to go talk to Blackfire."

"You do that," Cyborg said as he walked over to his worktable. "Good luck."

"You too."

(scene change)

_Okay, Blackfire, this shouldn't be too hard._

_People do this every day, some of them even sincerely._

_You've faced (and done worse) than this._

_Piece of cake… right?_

_Wrong._

Blackfire pulled her hand back from Beast Boy's door for the… she had lost count of how many times she had backed out from knocking on Beast Boy's door. It had seemed so simple when she first thought it out- find Beast Boy, apologize, find Raven, apologize, no problem. Everything solved.

But now…

The problem was that she just wasn't the apologizing sort of person; as far as she was concerned, 'sorry' was a word that happened to other people. What's more, she thought with a small wry grin, apologizing for everything she had done to everyone she had done it to would take more time than she, heck, the Universe had.

But this time- this time it was different.

Blackfire sighed as she steeled herself to knock on Beast Boy's door again. She didn't know what was worse; saying sorry to Beast Boy, or actually admitting to herself that she was going soft. What she did know was that she had hurt Raven.

Besides, this wouldn't be the first time she had ignored someone else's feeling to get her own way; the fact that those feelings were her own was a minor point at best.

Now if only Beast Boy would cooperate-

"What do you want, Blackfire?"

Blackfire turned to see Beast Boy standing at the other end of the corridor, a tinfoil package in his hands.

"Where were you?" Blackfire asked, temporarily unbalanced, and irritated because of it.

"I got hungry," Beast Boy said, holding up the tinfoil package. "Why, you thought I was trying to get Raven killed again?"

_Were you?_ Blackfire thought of retorting, before biting it back. "No," she said through gritted teeth. "In fact, Beast Boy, I came here to apologize."

The tofu dropped.

"You…you wha…?" Beast Boy asked.

"That's right, Beast Boy," Blackfire said, deciding to get it over with here and now. "I've come to say I'm-"

_Okay, let's try again_.

"I'm-"

_You can do this, Blackfire_.

"I'm-"

"Er, Blackfire?"

"I can do this, okay!" Blackfire said, before trying again. "I'm s-s-s-" She took a deep breath, and tried again. "I'm szszsz-"

"Look, Blackfire, is this going to take long? 'Cos my tofu's getting cold and-"

"I'M SORRY! There, I said it! I'm sorry, Beast Boy, okay!"

"…You're…sorry?"

"Yes, Beast Boy, I am," Blackfire said, drunk with relief.

"Wait, wait, let me get this straight- you, Blackfire, you're saying _sorry_?"

"Yes, Beast Boy, I am," Blackfire said, starting to become irritated.

"Why?"

"Because of Raven, that's why!" Blackfire said hotly. "You know, small girl, pale skin, likes to say "Azerath Metrion Xinthos" a lot? You know the- wait, wait, let me start over."

After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Blackfire continued. "Basically, the thing is, no matter who wins when we fight, we always end up hurting Raven. Now, she told me, and I quote, that you are important to her. I don't know why, but that's something I'm willing to live with. Truce?" she asked, extending her hand.

Beast Boy stood there, unmoving for a moment, before replying in a way Blackfire never expected.

"Raven made you do this, didn't she?"

"What?" Blackfire asked, incredulous.

"Don't lie to me, Blackfire! Did Raven make you do this?"

"Well, kinda-"

"I knew it!" Beast Boy said, throwing his arms up. "What's the matter, huh?" he asked angrily. "The sound of my voice disturbing her precious meditation?"

"Did you hear anything I said?" Blackfire asked in frustration. "She cares about you, Beast Boy!"

"Yeah right, like I'm supposed to believe that!"

Beast Boy found out that even when not airborne, Blackfire could _move_. In what seemed like a fraction of a second, she had apparently moved several feet to seize Beast Boy by the collar and hold him up against the wall. "Look, Beast Boy," she said, "I've had it up to here with your stupid, delusional, self-pitying-"

"Get off me!" Beast Boy yelled, pushing her away and stomping off, when she stopped in mid stride and turned to Blackfire. "You said she cared for me, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"So why isn't she here? Why isn't she apologizing to me? I don't want your apology, Blackfire, I want hers." He looked down at the tinfoil-wrapped tofu in his hands. "You know what?" he said, throwing the package to Blackfire, who caught it. "I'm not hungry anymore. If anyone needs me, I'll be outside."

And with that, he walked to a window, changed into a swallow, and flew off into the night.

And leaving a dejected Blackfire slumping down in the corridor, head in her hands, wondering if anything will ever be all right again.


	7. Unholy Caduceus

**Chapter Seven: Unholy Caduceus**

Someone spoke. "Blackfire?"

"…Hey Raven, what's up?" Blackfire said, giving Raven a strange mix of grimace and forced smile. "I hope you're having a better night than I am."

Raven sighed as she sat down next to Blackfire. There were some times when meditation training could really help. "I was looking for Beast Boy," she said evenly. "Where is he?"

"He went out the window, Raven," she added, pointing at the opened window.

"And why did he go out the window? We do have a door," Raven said, her expression and tone still as icy calm as ever.

"I don't know, maybe he got bored?" Blackfire retorted.

"You argued with him again, didn't you?" Raven asked, and that was when Blackfire's cheerful façade crumbled, and she whispered something. "What was that?" Raven asked.

"…I'm sorry," Blackfire said, hating herself for saying the words. Scowling, she turned to Raven, telling her, "I'm sorry, okay? Isn't that what you wanted to know?"

"No," Raven said simply. "I want to know why you two were arguing. Again."

Blackfire's eyes glowed slightly, and for a moment Raven feared that she was going to lose her temper, and she tried the best she could to covertly raise her own magical defenses.

All that proved unnecessary, however, as Blackfire's eyes returned to normal, and she sat back, smiling bitterly. "Would you believe me if I said all I wanted to was to try make things better?"

"What do you mean?"

"I tried to apologize to Beast Boy," she stated.

Raven didn't show emotion much, so when she gave Blackfire a look of sheer disbelief, Blackfire knew she meant it.

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either." Blackfire's voice, already strained by the forced cheer she was putting into it, was made even more so by the sugar she was infusing it with. "But there I was, doing my best to… to…"

Blackfire sighed, and pointed to the window. "As you can see… it didn't quite work out." She turned back to Raven, her eyes glistening slightly. "Personally, I don't care what Beast Boy thinks about me. If he wants to hate me, fine. Same goes for everybody else. Everybody else except you- you're different. I didn't want to hurt you, Raven, and I've never been good with saying sorry."

"I've noticed," Raven said dryly.

"So I decided to swallow my pride and tell Beast Boy I was sorry," Blackfire explained. She laughed ruefully as she added, "He thought I was setting him up for something, and who could blame him?"

She ran a hand through her hair sadly. "All I wanted was to say was I'm sorry. To Beast Boy, and to you. Mostly you, of course, but I figured Beast Boy- I can't believe I'm saying this," Blackfire sighed.

"Me neither," Raven said softly as she stood up, her hand held out, inviting Blackfire to join her.

"So… forgiven?" Blackfire asked hesitantly.

"Forgiven," Raven confirmed, kissing Blackfire on her cheek. "Come on, let's go look for Beast Boy-"

Raven's communicator bleeped. Upon answering it, she heard Cyborg's voice coming through the channel. "Hey Raven- uh, you weren't in the middle of anything important, were you?" In the background, several hissing and sparking noises could be heard.

"No, Cyborg. At least," she said, looking at Blackfire, "not anymore. Is something wrong?"

"Wrong? What makes you think something's wrong?" Cyborg babbled, as something popped loudly in the background. "But now that you mention it, I could use some help down here, and since Rob and Star ain't back yet-"

"I'll help," Blackfire chimed in.

"Blackfire? You there too? How are you, heh?"

"Better than you," she retorted. "Much better. Where are you?"

"In the garage-"

"Good. I'll be there soon," she said switching off the communicator. Turning to Raven, she said sweetly, "I'll go handle this, you go handle Beast Boy, okay?"

"You're pushing it," Raven said, smiling.

"Raven, Raven, Raven," Blackfire said, as if explaining something to a small child. "Cyborg and his problems, I can handle. Beast Boy and his, nope. That's your job." Growing more serious, she continued, "He'll listen to you."

"And what do I tell him?" Raven asked knowingly.

"Tell him- tell him I'm sorry," Blackfire said, forcing her words out, before the impish glint came back into her eyes. "And tell him I win."

Raven nodded, her small smile seeming to widen slightly. "I'll do that," she said. "You'll be careful?"

"Only if you are."

(scene change)

"I'll be careful, Starfire, I promise."

"But Robin, on such a dark night it would be easy to get lost, and you might meet something or someone dangerous, and-"

"Starfire, I just want to walk home, or at least take the R-cycle," Robin said with could only be described as good-natured exasperation as he looked down from Starfire's arms onto Jump City. "Besides, fighting crime's what we do."

"But you might get hurt, Robin!" Starfire said.

Robin sighed, but decided not to press the issue for now. Starfire meant well, after all. "Okay, Starfire," he said, admitting defeat, "I won't- uh oh, looks like rain."

"Oh no! Robin, we must find shelter!" Starfire said, heading downwards. "You might get struck by lightning, or catch a cold, or, or…" she said, trailing off in indecision.

"How about we go there?" Robin said, pointing to a restaurant with the sign 'Capo Di Tutti Capizza' above the front door. "I could use something to eat anyway."

"Ha-hey!" a jovial, rotund Italian man with a huge mustache greeted them, as waiters in 1930's style pinstripes clustered round. "Robin, Starfire! Howyadoin' eh, howyadoin'! You okay, Robin? Heard you was in the hospital after fightin' that big lizard."

"Nah, it wasn't much," Robin told him modestly, apparently ignoring the distressed look Starfire was trying to repress. "So, Pete, you got a table free? I'm starving"

"For you two, I always gotta table free," Pete said, ushering them to a table. "Can't have you two sitting outside, can I? Ah, here you go, nice quiet place, good for some romance, eh?" he said, and Starfire blushed a little. "So, one with everything on for Robin, and mustard topping for the lady, right?"

"That is correct, Mr. Pete," Starfire told him.

"What can I say, you guys come inn'ere too much," he said, smiling. "Now if you two'll excuse me, I'm gonna personally see to your order."

As the restaurant owner walked to the kitchen, so did Robin turn to Starfire, giving her a kind, but piercing look. "Okay, Starfire, what's up?" he asked.

"What do you mean, Robin?" she replied nervously.

"Starfire, you know I can take care of myself, but since I've got out of the hospital, you been doing nothing but try to keep me safe!"

"Is it wrong for me to do so?" Starfire asked hotly. "Then tell me if it is, and I won't do it any more."

"Starfire," Robin said softly, taking her hands in his, "It's not that I don't appreciate you trying to keep me safe, but you've never acted like this before. Come on, Star, it's not like that was the first time I was hurt, and certainly not the first time I ended up in the hospital."

"I know," Starfire whispered. "But this- this was different."

"Different? How?"

Starfire fell silent, and Robin had just about decided to admit defeat again when she asked, "Robin, will you promise not to be angry at me?"

"I'll try," Robin said.

Starfire nodded, before adding, "Robin, do you remember what happened when we fought that giant lizard?"

"How could I forget?" Robin said ruefully, rubbing his arm.

"When you became injured, I felt- I felt afraid."

"I told you, Star," Robin said gently, "That wasn't the first time I was hurt-"

"But it was the first time I thought you would die! I was afraid, Robin, so afraid," Starfire said, fear and sadness in her voice. "And I do not wish to feel like that ever again," she ended quietly.

"So what do you want me to do, Starfire?" Robin asked. "Quit the Titans? You know I can't do that."

"I just want you to be safe, Robin," Starfire pleaded.

"I'll try to do my best," Robin promised, smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry, Starfire, I'm not going anywhere."

(scene change)

_Great, just great_, Beast Boy thought, as he walked along Jump City's streets in cat form, feeling the first raindrops begin to fall. _I try to get some fresh air, and all of a sudden I'm in one of Raven's poems_.

Raven. Now there was someone who he didn't want to think about- not that he appeared to have much choice about it, he realized glumly as he got under the roof of a run down bus stop near the ruined district. Her, and Blackfire…

Stupid Blackfire, coming in and showing off, making everybody think she was 'so cool', doing the exact same thing she did the last time she got here, except that this time Beast Boy was the only one she didn't fool, while the last time it was Starfire who-

"Fools are the ones least fooled," someone said from beside him.

Beast Boy looked up, surprised out of his reverie. "You were talking aloud," the bum sitting next to him rasped, his outline barely discernible in the darkness, even when seen through Beast Boy's feline eyes.

"Oh, sorry," Beast Boy said sheepishly, before the thought hit him. "Wait, you do realize you're talking to a cat, right?"

" 'Course I do," the bum said. "Tell the truth, you're pretty tame compared to what I normally see when I'm drunk, Beast Boy," he added good-naturedly as he drained the bottle he held.

"Heh, I'll bet- wait a minute, how did you know I'm Beast Boy?"

"Well, I _am_ sober, and I have much better night vision than most mortals," Legion said, reverting to his normal voice. "Oh, look at yourself, Beast Boy," he said, smiling. "You look like a deer caught in the headlights! An apt description for someone of your talents, don't you think?"

_You can take him, Beast Boy, you can take him, sure you can_, his heart told him.

Yeah, right, his brain countered, the fur on his back standing on end as Beast Boy hissed and bared his teeth, ready to strike. The first move Legion made, Beast Boy would be ready.

"Go ahead, Legion," Beast Boy said, no mean feat for a cat. "Bring it on."

"Beast Boy, Beast Boy, Beast Boy," Legion said, shaking his head disparagingly. "Whatever makes you think you could defeat me? Especially now that you're all on your lonesome now?"

"Did it at the museum, didn't I?" Beast Boy said defiantly, and with perhaps a great deal more bravado than necessary.

Not that Legion seemed to mind. "Touché!" he laughed, adding, "That you did, my little green friend, that you did. And in single combat too, unlike your cheating 'friends'-"

"What do you want, Legion?" Beast Boy snapped, hoping that Legion wasn't able to see the momentary blush caused by an equally temporary surge of pride.

"Well, for one, it's not to fight," he said, holding up two empty hands. "Look Ma, no knives. Had I a white flag, I'd be waving it."

"I asked you a question," Beast Boy said, although his fur was already settling down.

"Straight to the point, eh? Alright, alright, fair enough, but I don't think you'll like it," Legion said, his tone still in that same conciliatory manner. "You see, Beast Boy, the matter I wish to speak to you of is, well, quite delicate, very personal, to you and me both, and, well, you understand-"

"It's about Raven, isn't it? That's who it's always about," Beast Boy said flatly, his fur starting to rise again.

"Well, yes," Legion said hesitantly, seemingly ignoring Beast Boy's growing anger. "I mean- no wait, what do _you_ mean, 'that's who it's always about'?"

"None of your business," Beast Boy said.

"Very well," Legion shrugged. "Come now, Beast Boy, what is she to you? A magical hazard, that's what! You could always replace her, you know. I hear Supergirl's looking to join you guys, what about her?"

"You expect me to betray my friends for you?" Beast Boy asked, not quite believing Legion's bluntness.

"Why not?" Legion asked, his voce impatient. "Look, this is how it'd go- I take Raven, give her back to her father, and that's it! I'm out of your hair! Or fur, whichever you prefer. It's not like she would be missed."

There were a few seconds of shocked silence before Beast Boy spoke up. "You know what, Legion? You're right."

"I am?"

"Yeah, I can't beat you one on one, but the problem is, you can't beat me either. I'll just escape, and get my 'cheating friends' to help me kick your butt. So here's my offer: you go disappear, and I wont do that." With that Beast Boy slunk off, hoping Legion wouldn't call his bluff.

He hadn't got more than a few feet away when Legion called out salaciously, "Tell me, something Beast Boy."

"Don't go there, man don't go there," Beast Boy threatened, his voice a snarling whisper.

"It must be very galling indeed, when you find out that your lady love loves ladies! Oooh, how that must have _hurt_!"

Legion suddenly found himself pinned to the ground by a large green tiger "I told you not to go there, man," Beast Boy growled, his breath fogging Legion's vision, fangs dripping rainwater onto Legion's face. "And for your information, Raven's free to choose whoever she wants to."

"Oh really?" Legion snorted. "Is that what you truly believe, or is it what you tell yourself so you could sleep at night? No, wait!" Legion said, his eyes wide in terror, as Beast Boy raised a massive paw.

"What's the matter, Legion? You got attached to this clone or something?"

Legion said nothing, instead reaching up slowly to Beast Boy's paw, always making sure Beast Boy was paying attention, and quickly drawing the tip of his thumb across one of the claws.

The unmistakable smell of blood filled the air, even through the rain.

"You're real," Beast Boy said, not believing what he was smelling. "I mean-"

"That's right, Beast Boy, I'm the original Legion," he said. "No fakes here. And while you're considering that little factoid, I wish to draw your attention to the fact that while you have me pinned down here, you lifted one of your paws from my arm, which meant I had a perfectly good opportunity to strike you in your exposed belly."

That night was probably the first and only time a tiger went "ACK!" as it jumped off its prey. "Don't worry, Beast Boy. If I had intended to ambush and destroy you tonight, I would have already done so. But I didn't even bring my knives tonight."

"…Why?" Beast Boy asked.

Legion smiled ruefully. "Why all the trouble? I guess it's because I wanted you to trust me."

"Trust you? Why would I want to trust you? You want to hand over one of my friends over to a, a, a Demon Lord!"

"First off, considering how Raven has betrayed you, I don't think she's got the right to be your friend anymore. And second, even if she did, what makes you think I'm really going to hand her over to Trigon in the first place?"

"Huh, what?" Beast Boy asked, his eyebrows raised and his mouth as agape as far as his tiger form would allow.

"That's right, Beast Boy, you heard me. In fact, I promise you that if you give Raven to me, I will not only return her to you unharmed, but," his eyes narrowed into slits, "I will also ensure Blackfire ceases to trouble you, and the Titans anymore. Deal?"

"…I can't betray my friends," Beast Boy said at last.

"I know, Beast Boy, I know that. But I'm not asking you to betray your friends, am I?" Legion said. "At least, not those worthy to call you friend."

"Stop talking about Raven like that!" Beast Boy shouted.

"I wasn't talking about her," Legion said kindly. "I was talking about Blackfire."

"She's… she's my friend too, so you can just forget it."

"I am a demon, Beast Boy. I know when a person is lying."

"I'm not lying!" Beast Boy denied hotly.

The sad smile Legion gave him was all the reply Beast Boy needed. "She is my friend, she is… she is…"

"Don't worry, Beast Boy, I understand; you may need some time to think about it. When you have reached a decision, come to this bus stop. I'll be near."

"How'd you know I won't bring the other Titans?"

Despite the rain, Beast Boy heard Legion as he quietly replied, "You may not trust me, Beast Boy, but I trust you."

And with that, Legion walked off into the maze of rubble and construction areas behind him, while Beast Boy stood and watched, waiting for the rain to stop, wondering why he didn't pursue, and fearing the answer.


	8. And the Rain Poured On

Author's note: Chapter Seven reposted with a few minor spelling corrections, nothing major.

**Chapter Eight: …And The Rain Poured On**

Lightning flashed, thunder deafened.

And Cyborg laughed.

"It's alive!" he exulted, the flashing lightning lending him an eerie black and white cast. "_IT'S ALIVE!_ AAAHAHAHAHAHAAA!"

"What happened to 'booyah'?" Blackfire asked dryly, before continung, "I still say it's overrated. It's definitely not worth all this mess and work- or the excitement," she added, wiping her face and body armour clean of grease stains.

"Come on, Blackfire, you were having as much fun as I was making this thing," Cyborg retorted, as he looked around for a suitable container to house his newest invention.

"That is beside the point," Blackfire said mischievously. "Besides, aren't you celebrating a little early? You don't even know if they're going to work."

"Oh, they'll work all right, they'll work," Cyborg said confidently, before looking out the window and sighing. "Man, I hate this weather. I could be out there and testing these babies out right now."

"Look on the bright side," Blackfire said, yawning, "at least now we'll be able to get some sleep."

"You go on ahead, Blackfire," Cyborg replied, as he surveyed the garage, "I'll just take a few minutes to clean this place up a bit."

"You do that Cyborg," Blackfire said, heading upstairs to her room.

And found its door wide open.

Instinct took over. Blackfire leapt back into the outside corridor, eyes and fists blazing with starbolt energy, before ducking back into her doorway. "Whoever you are," she snarled, "you picked the wrong time-"

"It's me," a lone figure lying down on her bed said in a flat voice.

"Raven?" Blackfire asked hesitantly. "Raven, is that you? What are you doing in my room? And where's Beast Boy?"

"I asked Starfire and Robin to look for him," Raven replied, and Blackfire was struck at how… _fragile_ she sounded.

"Raven, what's- what's wrong?" Blackfire said urgently as she moved towards the Azerath, all other concerns pushed from her mind.

It was then that she noticed Raven trembling. It was slight, but even in the darkness of Blackfire's room, it was noticeable. "Raven, what happened?" Blackfire whispered, as she closed the door behind her. "Who did this to you?" she asked, her eyes beginning to glow.

"Me," Raven whispered back, before telling a bewildered Blackfire what had happened earlier that night.

(scene change)

Lightning flashed, thunder deafened.

The rain was steadily getting worse as Raven looked up from her silent communicator and scanned the horizon anxiously, raindrops steadily pattering upon the shield she had erected above her. _Beast Boy, where are you?_ she wondered. Their communicators were working, she knew that; Robin and Cyborg had checked them just a few days before during a routine maintenance check, and yet there wasn't any answer when she tried to reach Beast Boy.

She landed on top of one of Jump City's many 'rebuilding projects' a small distance away from the Tower, seeking shelter; she wasn't about to risk what she was about to do with her shield still up. Ever since she received her new power, even that act of creating a simple shield to protect against the rain had threatened to overwhelm- no, _tear_ her apart. It was as if there was a massive beast within her, held in by the flimsiest of cages, ever looking for the slightest crack through which it would break through.

It was so unfair, Raven thought, that she had to work almost her whole life to learn to control her powers, and when she thought she finally had the hang of it, to almost lose control of them again.

Raven breathed slowly and deeply, trying to clear her mind. She needed a supreme effort of control for what she was about to do, and a troubled mind wasn't going to help, nor was being wet going to make it any easier. Settling down underneath an unfinished floor of the building, Raven carefully brought down her shield, relaxing a bit as with the shield down, she was able to concentrate better on restraining the power within her.

Then, she hesitated, looking out the unfinished building to the skyline ahead. Considering what she was about to do; was it worth the risk? The amount of energy she would have to release for her locator spell was undoubtedly far more than what a simple shield would have required, and the results could be unpredictable, to say the least.

Then, seemingly unbidden, an image of a serpentine demon, a black blade in each clawed hand flashed through her mind. It was then that Raven realized that she didn't have a choice. Legion was out there, somewhere, and Beast Boy was alone. She sat down, cross legged, and began reaching out, searching for Beast Boy…

_Azerath Metrion Xinthos…_

_Azerath Metrion Xinthos…_

_Azerath Metrion Xinthos…_

Even prepared as she was, the sheer amount of power released during her spell still surprised her, and it took several tense moments for Raven to bring her wayward energies under control, to restrain them and focus them-

_Find Beast Boy_, she commanded/thought.

And like a wild beast arduously tamed and chastised, the powers within her obeyed.

Like a pack of ravenous bloodhounds, they raced through Jump City, sniffing within each alley, each street, within each building. So powerful had they become, everywhere they went, shadows lengthened and grew darker, the wind and rain colder. They passed by the waking and left them looking over their shoulders for something that growled silently, they passed by the sleeping and woke them with- not nightmares, but memories, memories of monsters under the bed, monsters that ate children, naughty or nice, naughty and nice…

But Raven did not know any of this, she could not afford to. It was all she could do to control her powers, make sure they did not break free of her weakened leash as they searched for

_Beast Boy_.

Raven sighed with relief, as she felt the presence of Beast Boy's mind nearby, near the ruined district. Although she knew where he was, she wanted to make sure he was all right, see if he was safe, and with that in mind, she nudged her energies just a bit further, right to where Beast Boy was-

MEDDLER INTRUDER INTERLOPER VIOLATOR WHO WHAT ARE YOU HOW WHY ARE YOU TRESSPASSING NO MATTER I WILL TAKE YOU BURN YOU CUT YOU DESTROY YOU NO WAIT THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN GET OUT GET OUT** THE PAIN THE PAIN NO MORE PLEASE-**

Raven's back arched as she fell backwards screaming, her head filed with blinding pain. She wished for merciful unconsciousness to bring her away, make the pain stop, but no such luck. Instead, she endured several more agonizing moments as her powers came rushing back into her, rebounding off… whatever they had encountered.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pain ebbed to a dull ache, felt through her exhausted body. Gasping slightly, she picked up her communicator, and signalled Robin. In retrospect, she should have done this first; but between his tentative recovery and a concerned Starfire, Raven didn't want to add to his troubles.

Now, however, it appeared that she had no choice- she was in no shape to find Beast Boy on her own. It would be all she could do to limp back to the Tower.

Maybe not even that-

Oh no.

Something was happening.

Something bad.

Within her, Raven could feel her dark energies, the beast reawaken. Whatever had happened out there, it had not deterred her powers.

It fed them.

And now, they wanted more-

"Robin here," she suddenly heard Robin ask, startling her from her thoughts.

Robin, I need a favour," Raven said, trying to keep the exhaustion, and the terror, from her voice.

(scene change)

"…and then, I came back here," Raven said simply, her head in Blackfire's lap.

For some time, they didn't know nor care how long, there was only silence, broken only by the occasional rumble of thunder and the whisper of breath.

Then Blackfire spoke. "Is there anything I could do?" she whispered, wishing she could say more, wanting to rid herself of the feeling that it was her fault all this happened, all her fault, all this was just because she wanted to annoy Beast Boy…

Raven didn't say anything; instead she turned over and placed her arm tightly around Blackfire's waist.

Blackfire got the hint; pausing only to take off her arm plating, she lay down in front of Raven and held her close. "If you tell anyone I did this, Raven…"

"Don't worry, Blackfire," Raven replied, smiling lightly, "I won't."

"Good."

And lulled by the sound of raindrops falling against the window of Blackfire's room, they soon fell asleep.

(scene change)

"Beast Boy?" Starfire called out. "Beast Boy, you're all wet!"

Startled out of his reverie, Beast Boy looked up from the abandoned bus stop he had been sheltering under to see what would have been an absurd sight under other circumstances: Starfire holding Robin to herself with one arm and carrying an umbrella in the other hand.

"Hey guys," Beast Boy said, but without much camaraderie in his voice. "Er, what's with the…?" his voice trailed off as he indicated the sight before him.

"I did not wish Robin catching a cold," Starfire told him determinedly, while shooting Robin a 'don't argue with me' look. Not that Robin seemed inclined to disagree, judging by the look he gave in return.

"O-kay," Beast Boy said, uncomfortable (and more than a little jealous) at this show of affection. "So, how'd you guys find me?" he asked ruefully, trying to change the subject.

"Well," Robin began, "Raven said-"

"Huh? Raven was here?" Beast Boy said, a dull, terrible cold running through his spine and chilling his heart. "She followed me? She saw me?"

"What? No, Beast Boy," Robin replied, surprised by Beast Boy's sudden outburst. "She said she used a locator spell to find you; she thought since your communicator was off, you were in some kind of danger. Is something wrong, Beast Boy?"

"N-no," Beast Boy stammered. He swallowed, and said with a little more confidence in his voice, "No, nothing's wrong, heheh. Um… did- did Raven sense anyone… _else_, here?"

"I… don't think so," Robin said hesitantly. "If she did, she didn't tell me. She just said that you might have been in danger."

"Yeah, but did she say anything else?" Beast Boy asked urgently.

"No," Robin said, becoming suspicious. "Beast Boy, what's wrong?"

"Like I said, nothing's wrong," Beast Boy said hastily.

But even he could see that neither Robin nor Starfire were convinced. A sudden sense of self-preservation took over, an instinct that compelled him to tell Robin, "Well, actually, that's not really true."

"What do you mean, Beast Boy?" Starfire asked.

"Well, um, me and Blackfire… we had a fight," Beast Boy said while rubbing his head and trying to look bashful and rueful at the same time. "And I needed some time to cool off, that's al."

"You sure you're okay?" Robin asked, still not really convinced. "Raven seemed pretty sure she sensed danger."

"What can I say, maybe she made a mistake, you know. I mean, I was pretty mad," Beast Boy replied. "But I'm not mad anymore, honest. At least, not as mad as I was before," he added, with as much sincerity as he could muster.

"If you say so, Beast Boy," Robin replied. He still sounded unsure, but at least he wasn't giving Beast Boy funny looks anymore. "Anyway, fights or not, you have to get back to the Tower; it's not safe to be out alone like this."

"Robin's right, Beast Boy," Starfire added. "Legion is still out there," she said, staring into the darkness of the ruined district in front of her, "and it would be very dangerous indeed if he managed to catch any of us alone."

_Too late_, an unbidden thought told Beast Boy. Pushing it out of his mind, Beast Boy forced a smile and nodded. "Yeah, you guys have a point. Sorry if I scared any of you."

"No problem, Beast Boy," Robin said, placing a companionable arm on Beast Boy's shoulder. "Come on, let's get back to the Tower."

(scene change)

"Hey man, you all right?" the bum asked drunkenly.

"I'm…I'm fine," Legion croaked out as he knelt in his corner of the rubble, clutching his chest coughing.

" hic You don't s-sound all all all right," the inquiring drunk slurred. "Here," he said, offering his bottle, as the fumes spurred him on to charity, "thish'll make you fell all better-"

"I said I'm all right!" Legion rasped out angrily, and as he watched Legion stalk off, the now suddenly-sober bum decided that he had drunk enough for that night. It wasn't the blood the other guy coughed up and was now trailing out his mouth that bothered him; he'd seen enough people with 'the Teeb' to become desensitized it, nor was it that the other guys teeth seemed to have been sharpened into points ('cos God knows what people do when they're young and stupid).

It was his eyes, the ones that seemed to shimmer and turn into snakes' eyes for a moment, before changing back. These weren't normal snakes' eyes either; he wasn't a 'Christer', as he liked to call 'em, but he'd be damned if what he saw weren't the eyes of…

The eyes of…

Yep, he'd definitely had enough.

In normal circumstances, Legion would have swelled with pride had he known he'd been compared someone even his Master would have considered superior; however, these weren't normal circumstances. All Legion was concerned with now was to find a nice, quiet place where he could regenerate in peace.

It had started out harmlessly enough; he had felt something probe at the magical defences he had erected to keep his location secret. Even the strongest mortal magics would not have sensed him; their locator spells would have washed over his hiding place without ever knowing he was there.

But what happened tonight was not by any mortal hand.

At first, judging by his first impression of the magic involved, it was his Master, Trigon, who had cast the locator spell, which of course made no sense; his Master would not have needed any such thing to find Legion.

Which only left one possibility: his prey.

But before he could even allow himself the simple, sadistic pleasure of informing Raven that he had found her, something happened.

Legion had lived for many thousands of years.

But tonight was the first time he felt- not fear, he knew how it felt whenever he thought there was a chance he might fail his Master- but sheer, mindless terror, as whatever forces raven unleashed tore at his spell, and since like all demons, the essence he used for his spell was as kin to him as flesh and blood and organs were to humans…

He fell to his knees and coughed again, his blood splattering on the dusty concrete beneath him. Even though with the internal damage he had suffered, he would survive (a demon had no use for the frailties of mortals), he was definitely in no shape to continue his mission. Even after his regeneration, he was sure that Raven would find it more than easy enough to tear him apart.

It looked like Beast Boy, far from being an amusing diversion, was becoming far more important to Legion than he had anticipated…


	9. Past And Future Appointments

**Chapter Nine: Past And Future Appointments**

It was eight in the morning, more or less, and Blackfire had a problem.

On the bright side, at least this was a problem Blackfire could live with; heck, she wished she could face this more often.

She surveyed her situation one more time, making sure she missed nothing. She was lying in bed

_-with my clothes still on, unfortunately-_

with Raven's arms around her, and vice versa. Slowly, so as to not wake Raven up, she (reluctantly) attempted to free herself. Halfway through the attempt, though, she realized that all her careful movements weren't necessary; Raven was just too exhausted from the previous night to notice.

Suddenly, Blackfire was struck by an eerie (and unwelcome) sense of déjà vu, as her mind flashed back and filled with images of Raven in a hospital bed, of Raven waking up in her own bed, sweating and terrified…

"And I thought my life sucked," Blackfire whispered, before kissing Raven's forehead lightly. "I just wish there was something I could do."

"Waffles," Raven said, her eyes still closed.

"Raven?" Blackfire asked, both pleasantly surprised and mildly annoyed at the same time. "How long have you been awake?"

"Does it matter?" Raven asked, smiling slightly.

"No, guess not," Blackfire sighed, as what little annoyance she felt dissipated. "So you want waffles for breakfast," she said evenly.

"Yes. Lots and lots of waffles."

(scene change)

Most people would not consider it normal to have breakfast made by an alien wearing a chef's hat, and would definitely react if something like that happened.

The fact that Blackfire only experienced mild curiosity upon entering the main room shows us how much we know of 'normal'.

"Pleasant morning greetings, Blackfire!" Starfire said cheerily as Blackfire entered the living room. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"You could say that," Blackfire replied. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to the tray Starfire was taking out of the oven.

"I have decided to prepare a breakfast of mustard cookies for you and all my friends! Would you like to lick the spoon?"

Blackfire raised an eyebrow. "Mustard cookies?"

Her sister nodded happily. "With small bits of hot dog meat within them," she said, breaking open a cookie and revealing the small bits of (hopefully) beef, "and ketchup dip!" she added, holding up a huge bowl, in which several bottles of Heinz gave their lives. "I had seen how much my teammates enjoyed both the eating of such meaty treats with mustard and ketchup, and the eating of cookies, and so I have decided to combine them all in this wonderful breakfast!"

"Oookay, right, I'm sure everybody'll just love it," Blackfire said sweetly, deciding not to press the issue. Besides, considering all that had happened, she figured she was entitled to some entertainment anyway. "So, Starfire, where are the waffles?" she asked, rummaging inside the cupboard.

"Waffles, sister? I did not know that you liked waffles."

"I don't," Blackfire said, taking out a bottle of Tabasco sauce. "But Raven does."

"Raven?" Starfire asked as her sister drained half the bottle in a single gulp.

Perhaps it was a lack of sleep, perhaps it was just that Blackfire had other things on her mind, maybe it was that Blackfire wasn't as versed in human customs as she thought she was (or thought her sister wasn't), perhaps she just wanted to get a rise out of her sister. Any of those reasons could have explained why she replied, "Yeah, Raven. She slept with me last night. So, where are the waffles, Starfire? Starfire?"

Starfire was absolutlely still; it seemed as if she was an absurd statue chiselled out of rock. Her eyes were wide open, the pupils narrowed down to little dots, and her mouth was a gaping chasm, from which no sound issued.

"What?" Blackfire asked, bewildered. Then she realized what she had said.

_Oops._

Looks like Starfire knew more about Earth than Blackfire suspected.

"Starfire, what I meant to say was-"

"Please do not continue for although I am sure that your relationship is a wonderful one born of love and mutual desire I do not wish to know the details of how you wake each other up or the sharing of each others' beds or mmph!" Starfire said as Blackfire stuffed a cookie into her mouth.

"Nothing happened, okay?" Blackfire said, as slowly and as calmly as she could manage. "What happened was that Raven came in last night. She was tired. She- she needed someone to talk to, okay? That's all we did: talk. And then we went to sleep. Nothing else. Okay?"

"Mmph mmp awf mm dmf?" Starfire asked through a mouthful of cookie.

"What?"

Starfire ate the cookie. "Is that all you did? I am sorry for asking that question, sister. I simply do not wish to see- that is, I mean-"

"We _talked_, Starfire," Blackfire said through gritted teeth. "You know, talked? It's where I open my mouth, and words come out, then she opens her mouth, and- well you get the idea."

"What did you talk about?"

"What kind of question is that? What we talked about last night's none of your business!" Blackfire said hotly as she turned to another row of cupboards-

-only to find Starfire blocking her way. "Raven is my friend, and while I do not love her in the same way that you do, I do love her all the same!" she said hotly. "And also, you are my sister," she said, in a softer tone, "and I can see that whatever has happened to raven has distressed you. I simply wish to be allowed to help."

Blackfire turned away from her sister a moment, and before she knew it, she was telling Starfire what she knew about what happened to Raven the night before; the argument with Beast Boy, the hostile presence Raven had felt as she looked for him, the hellish release of the Azerath's powers as she came into contact with it, the fear she felt, everything.

"And that's all," Blackfire said through gritted teeth, "I'm not going to hurt Raven, and I'll kill anyone who tries," she added, her eyes narrowing into slits.

"Then maybe that is the problem," Starfire said softly.

"What are you talking about?"

"I must admit, I do not know you as well as I should, and that is something I truly regret-"

"Get to the point, Starfire, I've got breakfast to cook."

Starfire sighed. "You seem to be having more difficulty controlling your emotions than you did before."

"So what?" Blackfire snorted. "It's not like I ever needed to."

"But Raven does," Starfire said. "Have you not considered the possibility that her love towards you may also be having the same effect on her?"

"'Course not, she's got too much practice controlling her emotions for that to happen," Blackfire said, before adding uncertainly, "right?"

"If she did," Starfire said softly, "she would not have fallen in love with you at all."

To that, Blackfire only answered softly, "Where are the waffles, Starfire?"

"Sister-"

"The waffles, Starfire. Just tell me where they are."

(scene change)

Blackfire came into her room holding in one hand a plateful of waffles, and in the other a bowl of vanilla ice cream topped with strawberry sauce. "I'd say I was sorry for being late, but I'd be lying," she said.

"Thanks for the honesty," Raven said dryly as she picked up one of the two pairs of forks and spoons on the plate and started digging in.

"You're welcome," Blackfire replied cheerfully as she spooned another waffle slice with ice cream on top into her mouth. "Say, Raven, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"I've been thinking- yeah I know, _me_, thinking?" Blackfire quipped, before continuing, "I've been thinking that, well, maybe, after this, we could… go on a date?"

Raven almost choked on her waffle. "What?"

"You know, a date," Blackfire said. In a very good Starfire impression, she continued, "It is where you and I do something romantic together and share a most wonderful and joyous experience!"

"…Okay, what's the problem?"

"Problem? What problem?" Blackfire asked, giving Raven a look of perfect innocence.

"I've never been the romantic type, and I don't think you are either," Raven said. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Uhm, yes," she said, before giving Raven a sly look, "but only during our date."

"…I'm sorry, Blackfire, but I can't," Raven replied, giving Blackfire a hurt look. "Don't you remember what I told you last night? Something's happening to me, Blackfire! I need to get my powers under control before it's too late."

"I know, Raven, and I want to help," Blackfire said with quiet determination.

"How? By going on a date?"

"Yes," Blackfire replied. "Look, Raven, I know it sounds like it's the last thing you want to do, but…" she trailed off, before she placed her hand softly on Raven's cheek, continuing, "I need you to trust me on this one, Raven."

Raven sighed. Sleepy as she was, she could feel her powers groggily trying to break into Blackfire's mind, trying to see what the Tameranian was hiding.

Well, she wasn't going to let them find out. Yes, she was suspicious, but no matter what Blackfire was planning, Raven didn't need her powers to sense that there wasn't any malicious intent behind Blackfire's request.

_Besides, what difference does it make if I'm betrayed again?_

Pushing that sudden thought out of her mind, and wondering what brought it on, Raven gave Blackfire a wan smile. "Okay," she said, "but I choose the place."

"Oh good, another coffeeshop," Blackfire remarked dryly.

"Actually, I was thinking-"

Suddenly, their communicators flared into life. "Special announcement from your friendly neighbourhood Cyborg- will all the Titans present in the Tower please pro-ceed to the garage? Thank you, and have a ROCKIN' DAY!"

"What was that all about?" Raven asked.

"Guess I forgot to tell you about _my_ night," Blackfire replied.

(scene change)

_Come now, Beast Boy, what is she to you?_

_It must be very galling indeed, when you find out that your lady love loves ladies!_

_Considering how Raven has betrayed you, I don't think she's got the right to be your friend anymore…_

_You may not trust me, Beast Boy, but I trust you…_

_But I trust you…_

_I trust you…_

And Beast Boy woke up screaming as they hit him; his memories of the previous night, flooding into his mind, threatening to overwhelm him.

But the strongest of the memories, was the offer-

_I promise you that if you give Raven to me, I will not only return her to you unharmed, but I will also ensure Blackfire ceases to trouble you, and the Titans anymore…_

"…No," Beast Boy whispered. "No way I'm doing that," he said into the empty air.

He got out of bed, feeling better as a plan came into his mind. He was going to that bus stop later, only he'd bring the Titans with him, and when Legion showed up, he was going to show him, yeah, that's it.

But he'd apologize to Blackfire first, of course.

And after all that, they'd all live happy ever after.

"Not me," Beast Boy said sadly, as he went to the living room, and dreading the journey.

Dreading it because he knew that in order to get there, he would have to pass by Blackfire's room, since the passageways Beast Boy normally took were still under repair from the last time Legion attacked- more reason not to trust him.

Nearing Blackfire's room, Beast Boy saw a shadow around the corner to the living room, and a second later, Blackfire came into view, carrying a plate of waffles and a bowl of ice cream. She did not notice him, however, because by that time Beast Boy was a small green gecko clinging to the wall, and hating himself for it.

_Dude, what's the big deal?_ he cajoled himself mentally. _All you gotta do, is-_

_Wait, Blackfire likes waffles?_

"I'd say I was sorry for being late, but I'd be lying," he heard Blackfire say.

"Thanks for the honesty," Raven replied.

Raven? What was Raven doing in Blackfire's room? And why was Blackfire bringing her breakfast… in bed...?

_No_, he thought with a sinking heart.

_No, no, no…_

"Okay, dude, relax," Beast Boy rambled to himself a minute later in the bathroom. "It's probably nothing, it's probably… it's… it's…"

He slumped down on the closed toilet seat. "Who am I kidding?" he whispered, burying his head in his hands. "Dude, you're such a chump!" he suddenly exclaimed angrily, hot tears running down his cheeks.

He looked upwards, seeing himself in the mirror. Had he been a more literary person, he would have remarked on how pitiful he had become. As it was, he contented himself with a "Dude, you suck."

First Terra, and now Raven. Why him? Or actually, why_ not_ him? At least Terra, he could understand; she didn't know Slade or the Titans well enough to see who the real bad guy was.

But Raven?

She'd known him a lot longer than she knew Blackfire; she liked guys, Beast Boy knew, he saw how she was around Aqualad. And she was smart enough to figure out who was good and who wasn't.

So why Blackfire, and not him? What made her so-

"Special announcement from your friendly neighbourhood Cyborg- will all the Titans present in the Tower please pro-ceed to the garage? Thank you, and have a ROCKIN' DAY!"

Once he had recovered from the sudden shock of hearing that from his communicator, Beast Boy, after a moment's hesitation, decided to go down to the garage, even if it did mean having to face Blackfire- and Raven.

_At least Cyborg never did anything behind my back,_ Beast Boy thought bitterly as he set off.

Then he stopped, and thought about it a little.

_Nothing bad, anyway._


	10. Reflections

Sorry this took so long to update. Real life tends to intrude at the most inopportune moments.

**Chapter Ten: Reflections**

It was late in the morning of a beautiful day. The sun was high- and so was a certain bio-mechanical Titan.

"Don't worry, Cyborg, everybody's here," Robin said, (surprisingly good) mustard cookie in one hand.

"You sure? You sure? You sure?" Cyborg asked, zipping back and forth, a huge grin on his face. "Howzabout one more headcount, just to be sure? I mean, I'm sure I forgot something."

"Cyborg…"

"Robin, check."

"Cyborg…"

"Starfire, check."

"Cyborg…"

"Raven, check."

"Cyborg…"

"Beast Boy, check."

"Cyborg…"

"Blackfire, check."

"CYBORG!" everybody shouted in unison.

That, at last, seemed to get his attention. "Yeah, Robin?" he said.

"We're all here, Cyborg, don't worry," Robin said, bemused. "What's this all about?"

"Ah, ah, ah," Cyborg said, wagging a finger. "Not so fast, Robin- first, I think I'll need a lovely assistant."

"Are you going to perform magic, Cyborg?" Starfire asked excitedly.

"Not exactly, Starfire," Cyborg said slyly. "But close."

"Oooh, then may I assist you in this endeavor? Please Cyborg, may I?"

"No problem, Starfire," Cyborg replied. "First, I'll need you to pick up that rock."

"Which rock? Would you like this shiny one? This big, heavy one? Oooh, how about this one? It is the shape and size of an egg!"

"Any one will do, Starfire."

"Then I shall give you this one," Starfire said, handing her friend the egg-shaped stone. "What are you going to do with it, Cyborg? Are you going to put in a hat, pull it out, and it will have changed into a real egg? Will it hatch? Will we have a pet chicken? May I name it Cluckie?"

"Uh, no, Starfire," Cyborg replied, his own enthusiasm dampened a bit by the unbridled eagerness Starfire exhibited.

Just a bit though. "Anyway, lovely assistant, are you ready to assist me with my first trick?" Cyborg asked, to which Starfire nodded excitedly. "Then, Starfire," he continued grandly, "will you please throw the stone as far up into the air as you can!"

"…That is it? You are not going to pull a chicken out of your hat?"

"Starfire…"

"Oh, very well," Starfire said disappointedly, adding almost _sotto voce_, "I would have much preferred a chicken," before throwing the stone straight upwards with all her might.

"Now watch," Cyborg said.

There was a loud, though not deafening roar, and to almost all the Titans' amazement, Cyborg sped straight upwards, the blue glow from his heels the only seeming explanation for the cloud of dust resulting from his abrupt flight.

"_BOOOOOYAAAAAH!_" Cyborg shouted triumphantly, saturated with the thrill of takeoff. His targeting sensors activated, he looked for the stone Starfire threw. Catching it in his sights, he extended an arm, and quickly grabbed it- however, Starfire did not throw the stone straight up, and when Cyborg bent to take the stone, he found himself dangerously off-balance.

A situation made even more perilous when his jets abruptly cut off in mid air. "Dude, we gotta help him!" Beast Boy cried out.

"Relax, Beast Boy, he'll be all right," Blackfire said, as she squinted up at the falling Cyborg.

"Blackfire, what are you saying?" Starfire asked hoarsely as Robin fumbled in his utility belt for something- anything to stop his friend's fall.

"Starfire, I said he'll be all right."

"Azerath Metrion Xinmmpf!" Raven said as Blackfire's hand clamped over her mouth. "Blackfire, what are you-"

Then came the sound that they had been dreading; it was muffled, but it was there- a sickening splat, as Cyborg crashed in the wet mud.

For a moment, there was a shocked silence.

And then, miraculously, a hand coming out of the impact site. "Hey guys, what's up?" Cyborg said nonchalantly, which was surprising considering not only the near-fatal fall he had just gone through, but blue glow around him dripping mud also gave the other Titans pause.

"Dude!" Beast Boy gasped out. "How did- I mean-" he tried to say, before settling on a "What the heck just happened?"

Cyborg straightened himself up and gave the other Titans a wide grin before saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce to you, the new and improved Cyborg 2.0, fully equipped with all new features like repulsor jump jets, a personal forcefield, and of course, a bigger ion cannon!" he finished, his arm folding back to reveal a far more dangerous looking blaster.

Having made this announcement, he shook off the mud, turned off the forcefield and awaited his applause. It took some time in coming because all the other Titans were standing there, mouths agape- except for Blackfire, who was merrily clapping away.

But when it did, the acclaim came loud and fast, and soon Cyborg found himself the focus of well-deserved attention, as he did whenever he unveiled his new inventions.

"Well, Cyborg, looks like you really outdid yourself this time," Robin said.

"How wonderful! You are even more of a technological marvel than you were previously!" Starfire said.

"Er… thanks?" Cyborg replied.

"Dude," Beast Boy said, his own troubles temporarily overtaken by his wonderment, "this is even cooler than the T-Car!"

"So this is what you two were working on," Raven said softly to Blackfire, as they stood behind her cheering friends, who were now at the 'ooh, what does this button do?' (and in Robin's case, 'how does it do that?') phase of their curiosity.

"Oh come on, Raven," Blackfire said grandly, "surely you don't think Cyborg could have did all that by himself, right?"

"Actually, yes."

"…Oh all right," Blackfire sighed, "you don't have to look at me like that. All I did last night was get Cyborg his orange juice and donuts." She folded her arms and scowled. "You never let me have any fun."

"You're forgetting our date."

"Well, there is that," Blackfire conceded. "So where's it gonna be?"

Raven looked at Blackfire, almost expressionless, save for a slight hint of an enigmatic smile. "You have your surprises," she said, "and I have mine."

"…You know, Raven, sometimes you can be a real-"

"Yeee-ow!" Beast Boy yelled, sucking on a finger. "Dude, that thing burns!"

"Whoops, sorry, Beast Boy," Cyborg said, fiddling around with his armpad. "That's one of the problems with this thing; sometimes a strong impact causes the energy capacitors to create an overcompensation loop-"

"Er, Cyborg," Beast Boy said, his eyes nearly glazed over, "speak English?"

"Means that it tends to go hyper if you hit it too hard."

"Oh."

"I wanted to fix it last night, but I burned up most of the materials just trying to get it to work. That reminds me: Robin, you know a lot about all this high-tech stuff, right? See, I'm going downtown to look for some stuff I'll need."

Robin nodded, cautiously adding, "I must warn you though, I'm no Batman."

"No problem; I'm not looking for Bat-gadgets, just some tech support."

"All right then, sure."

"Robin?" Starfire asked, concern in her eyes. "I may not know much about the technology which powers Cyborg, but may I also come with you?"

"Sure, Starfire, why not?" Robin said, fully resigned to his (hopefully temporary) new position.

"Thank you, Robin," Starfire asked, relived. "And our friends can also come along and help us protect- I mean, search for Cyborg's new components," she added sheepishly.

"Sounds good to me," Cyborg agreed. "Raven, Blackfire, you two coming along?"

"I'm afraid not, Cyborg," Raven said. "I already have plans with Blackfire." She gave Blackfire a sideways look. "That is, if she's interested."

"Oh, I'm interested," Blackfire replied, irritated that she had lost control of the conversation.

_Yeah, I'll bet_, Beast Boy thought to himself.

(scene change)

"The Tower?" We're going to have our date in the Tower?" Blackfire asked, as she followed Raven back up.

"Not… exactly," Raven answered.

"Not exactly? What do you mean?" Blackfire asked, as they entered Raven's room.

"Blackfire," Raven said quietly, taking something from a drawer, "I want to show you something."

Blackfire raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so _that's_ why you brought me here. Just joking," she said, seeing the look Raven gave her.

Raven held the gaze a moment longer, and then sighed. "I know," she said, briefly glancing at a bewildered Blackfire, before turning her attention back to the object in her hands. It had all seemed so clear, so easy, when she had thought of it that morning- but now, she was having second thoughts.

"Nice mirror," Blackfire said, startling Raven out of her reverie. "Is his what you wanted to show me?"

"Something like that," Raven said. "Blackfire?" she asked uncertainly. "You trust me, right?"

"Of course I trust you, Raven," Blackfire said, plainly uneasy as she wondered what the freezing hells she had gotten herself into. "Why do you ask?"

Raven did not answer. Instead, she held up her mirror.

The last thing Blackfire remembered before everything went black was a brief glimpse of a pair of clawed arms reaching for her.

And then, Blackfire began to dream.

At least, that's what she thought of at first, as she gazed upon what was before her. A small, rocky path branched off in the distance, the path itself floating in a dark, interstellar void, stars twinkling in the distance, their light occasionally blocked by floating rocky platforms, moving in the ether.

It was strange though; this place, whatever it was felt too real to be a dream-

"Blackfire?"

Blackfire yelped at the sound of her name, and turned around to see Raven, a small, bemused smile playing upon her lips. "Sorry about that, but I wanted to surprise you."

"You did that, all right," Blackfire confirmed. "What, or _where_, is this place, Raven?"

"You get three guesses, and two of 'em don't count," someone said, before Raven could reply.

_Okay_, Blackfire thought as she turned to face the speaker, _now I know I'm dreaming_.

The person standing in front of her was- well, Raven, except as far as Blackfire knew, Raven didn't wear a green cloak, nor did Blackfire ever recall Raven ever smirking mischievously, arms folded.

"Yeah, I kinda thought this would happen," the newcomer said, before turning her attention to Raven. "And you! What took you so long? I was _thisclose_ to giving you a mental kick in the butt!"

"Aw, come on Bravery, be nice, I know you can!" another 'Raven' (this one in a pink cloak) said as she materialized out of the darkness.

"Shaddup, Joy," the one known as Bravery said, but without any trace of rancor in her-

Wait a minute- Joy, Bravery…

"Raven," Blackfire asked, hardly believing what she was about to say herself, "this is your mind, isn't it? We're in your mind?"

"Excellent deduction!" a yellow cloaked Raven said as she too stepped out of the void. "And on the basis of insufficient evidence, as well! You are certainly faring much better than Beast Boy and Cyborg did when they were here- oops."

"Wait- Beast Boy and Cyborg?" Blackfire asked, turning to Raven.

"Y'know Wisdom," Bravery said exasperatedly, "for a genius, you can be pretty dumb sometimes."

"You brought Beast Boy and Cyborg here?" Blackfire asked Raven.

"I didn't," Raven replied calmly. "They were messing around in my room when I wasn't there, and they found my mirror. That's all."

"Whatever, Raven," Blackfire replied easily. "It's your mind, who you bring here is none of my business."

"Thanks, Blackfire," Raven replied, relieved. "If you want, I'll tell you everything later."

"Later?"

Raven nodded. "There's something else I want to show you." She looked at the Aspects. "Alone, please."

Bravery smirked as she leaned on Blackfire. "Better watch out, kid, there's no telling what she might be up to. I could, but I don't wanna ruin the surprise. See ya!" she said, disappearing

"Wait, what did Raven mean by 'alone'?" Joy asked. Unlike Bravery, she seemed to be fading away slowly, like Wisdom beside her. "We are a part of her, aren't we?"

"Well," Wisdom said as they dematerialized "I believe she meant…"

And their voices dissolved into the night, as did they.

"Interesting people," Blackfire said. "Your mind always like this?"

"I try to keep it inside," Raven replied.

"I can see why," Blackfire said, before letting her gaze sweep over the vast expanse. "You know, Raven, I have seen some pretty interesting places, but this… I wonder if my mind's like this. Wait, on second thought, I don't want to know."

"Come on, Blackfire," Raven said, taking Blackfire's hand. "There's something else I want to show you."

"You mean it gets better?" Blackfire asked, as Raven led her down the path and through a seemingly empty archway, into-

"Wow."

Where once stretched rocky paths floating in a starry void, there was now a seemingly endless golden meadow, with pink leaved trees dotting the landscape, gentle hills in the background. There was even a perfume in the air; strong, but not overpowering, it seemed to perfectly complement the scenery before her.

In short, Blackfire was floored with amazement.

Not that she was going to show it, of course.

"Nice place," she said nonchalantly.

"You're not fooling anybody," Raven said, kissing Blackfire on the cheek.

"It was worth a try," Blackfire replied, slightly miffed that Raven seemed to be able to see through her so easily. "You know, Raven" she added, trying to change the subject, "to tell the truth, I would have never guessed that-"

"I'd be able to do happy?" Raven interrupted wryly.

"Oh, I know you can do happy," Blackfire retorted. "It's just that I would've never expected you to be, well, _this_ happy," she added, indicating the 'countryside' around her.

"I thought you'd like it," Raven said, smiling despite herself.

"Makes me wonder why you don't come here more often," Blackfire said, taking in the scent of a flower. She knew it didn't really exist in the way she was used to, but who cared. It just smelled good.

"I used to," Raven replied. "Whenever I needed to meditate, or just get some peace and quiet, I'd come here."

"So what happened?"

Raven stood in silence for a moment, and the air seemed to grow colder. "I started getting more powerful, Blackfire. I… I became afraid of coming back here. The last thing I wanted to see was what was really happening to me."

"So… you brought me along for protection?" Blackfire asked uncertainly.

Raven shook her head gently. "No, Blackfire. I'd never bring you here if I thought it wasn't safe."

"So what changed your mind?" Blackfire said, grinning.

Returning the smile, Raven replied, "You in the mood for a long explanation?"

"What other kind is there?"

Taking a deep breath, Raven began to speak. "You know I've always had problems controlling my emotions, Blackfire, and it's got a lot more difficult since I met you. No offence."

"None taken."

Nodding, Raven continued, "And then Dawn, and Beast Boy, not to mention almost losing my friends…" Raven trailed off.

"You could have broken up with me," Blackfire said quietly, unable (and surprisingly, unwilling) to stop herself.

Raven nodded. "I could," she said equally softly, "but I didn't. And this morning, I found out why."

"What do you mean?"

Raven didn't reply at first. Instead, she took Blackfire in her arms, and held her close. "When I woke up this morning, next to you, I felt something I never thought I would. I felt… at peace, even after all that happened last night," she whispered. "I've never felt like that before, Blackfire, and I have you to thank for it."

"You're welcome," Blackfire said, returning Raven's embrace.

They stood in each other's arms, their warmth melting into each other's bodies in a seemingly endless moment. "Now _this_ is what I call a date," Blackfire whispered irreverently. "Don't you agree, Raven? Raven? What the-"

No single word in any language of any race could have described the sheer annoyance, exasperation, and plain old incredulousness that Blackfire felt when she saw what had happened.

Raven had, to all intents, purposes and appearances, fallen asleep.

"It's not her fault," someone said from behind Blackfire, who turned around to see another Raven, this time in white robes, gazing serenely at them. "I did that."

"And you are?"

"Well, I guess you could call me Truth, but it's not really what you'd expect."

"Oh really? Guess what- I'm in the mood for explanation," Blackfire said curtly.

Not that Truth seemed to be bothered by it. On the contrary, she seemed to be amused by Blackfire's unfriendliness. "Okay," she laughed, "I'll tell you what you want to know. Just put Raven down first, and we-"

"What, and leave her alone here?"

"Look," Truth said, her hands on her hips as she smiled enigmatically. "You could bring Raven along with us if you wanted to, but if you want a full explanation, it'll mean that we have to go on a little trip, and while I'm not saying Raven's fat, because she isn't," she added rather self-consciously, "she does weigh a bit more than she looks. Don't worry, Blackfire, she'll be safe."

Slowly, cautiously, Blackfire placed Raven gently upon the soft yellow grass, before fixing Truth with a burning stare. "If anything happens to her, I'll make sure you regret it."

"I have no doubt about that," Truth said. "In fact, that's why I want to talk to you. Follow me" she said, walking down a path. "Raven hasn't shown you much of her mind, has she?"

"No, and I don't blame her," Blackfire said, catching up. "Who are you, anyway?"

"I've just told you, I'm Truth."

"Really? Because last I heard, truth tends to send people to sleep only when it's educational."

"But all truth is educational," Truth replied.

"You know what I mean."

"My apologies, Blackfire," Truth nodded. "All right, Blackfire, you deserve some answers. I guess the best way I could explain myself is that I'm Raven's subconscious; the inner workings of her mind- in other words, the 'Truth' about who Raven is."

"Oh, I get it," Blackfire said sarcastically. "Ha, ha."

"You asked first," Truth chided gently.

"And what about the others? They're not the 'Truth' about who Raven is?"

"The other Aspects?" Truth said, even more amused. "Why don't you ask them?" Truth said, before her outline shimmered, then was replaced by a near-blinding light. When it faded, in Truth's place stood the other Aspects. Blackfire recognized Joy, Bravery and Wisdom, along with a few new faces.

"Heya, Blackfire!" Joy said, "Nice to see you again!"

"Same here, beautiful," Bravery said, living up to her name.

"So, let me guess- you're all Truth?"

"Different Aspects of a cohesive whole, yes," Wisdom said. "Each of us performing our duties well enough by ourselves, but in Truth, becoming greater than the sum of our parts."

"At least, the rest of them do," a small, grey cloaked Raven said sorrowfully. "I'm not too sure about what I bring."

"I'm not sure if I should bring _anything_," an orange cloaked Raven said, as she scratched her rear. "Can we get this over with and become Truth soon? All this thinking's making me tired."

"We get it Sloth, we geit it already! Sheesh!" Bravery said. "So, Blackfire, you seen enough?"

"I believe a more pertinent question would be 'Have you heard enough'?" Wisdom asked disdainfully, as Sloth let out a huge belch.

"Oh yes," Blackfire said with conviction.

"Yay! Truth time, guys!" Joy said. A moment after she said it, the Aspects seemed to dissipate, then swirl into each other. Another flash of white light, and Truth stood before Blackfire once again.

"Satisfied?" she asked.

"As I'll ever be."

"I understand your suspicions, Blackfire," Truth said, "but the fact is, I _am_ Raven. Her happiness, her bravery, her intelligence, her modesty, even her laziness and…"

"Anger?" Blackfire asked, when Truth hesitated.

Truth did not reply. Instead she turned and kept on walking. "Follow me," she said, but this time there was a tinge of anxiety in her voice.

"You know," Blackfire said, "there's something else you have in common with Raven."


	11. Intertwined Truths

**Chapter Eleven: Intertwined Truths**

Star-scattered skies.

A path of stone, going nowhere, beginning in emptiness.

And a voice like Raven's, whispering with demonic glee.

_Round and round the path we go, where we'll stop, SOMEBODY knows_

"What was that?" Blackfire asked, pausing for a moment. She had been following Truth through portal after archway after path for… she couldn't tell how long. Time seemed to be an optional thing here.

"What was what?" Truth asked, hurrying forward toward another archway.

"I thought I heard someone saying something," she said, turning around. But all that was behind her was a jagged stone path.

"I know," Truth said grimly. "That's why you need to come with me."

"Why?" Blackfire asked, annoyed- and scared. "I want some answers, Truth-"

"And I'll give them to you," Truth said. "But now is not the time! Come on!"

And without knowing why, Blackfire stepped into the archway with Truth.

(scene change)

"This is the place," Cyborg said, as the T-Car pulled up to the gleaming two storey building.

"Nice place," Robin said, his eyes falling on the pillar-mounted sign saying 'Stone Industries' outside the building, and below the sign, a smaller plaque saying 'Jump City Research And Development Laboratory'.

"But Cyborg," Starfire said. "It is so small- are you sure we will find what you will need in there?"

"Starfire," Cyborg said, winking, "you ain't seen nothing yet."

After getting past security ("Hello, Mr. Stone! How are you? Yep, you and your friends just look into that retinal scanner right there, sorry about that, security measures you understand, so how's about asking your dad to give us a raise, ha ha!") the Titans walked into the short, squat building.

"Good morning, Mr. Stone," the receptionist, a young brunette, said. "Dr. Five has expecting you."

"Thanks, Jenny," Cyborg said, before turning to his friends. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Jenny Five," he said as he introduced the Titans to the receptionist.

"It's a pleasure," she said, as she extended a gloved hand.

"So, this Dr. Five," Robin said, as he took Jenny's hand, "he's your father?"

"You could say that," Jenny smiled, before pressing a button on her console. "Ed, Mr. Stone and his friends are here to see Dr. Five. Could you wait in the Cybernetics Laboratory main hallway to escort them? Thanks." She turned back to the Titans. "Just take the elevator at the end of the hallway down six floors, to our underground research complex. One of our security guards will be waiting in front of the doors to take you to Dr. Five. Don't worry about missing him, he's quite… distinctive."

In fact, as the Titans looked upwards as they exited the elevator, Ed would definitely stand out in a crowd. For one, he was over fifteen feet tall. For another, he had two .75 caliber chainguns and what looked like a rocket launcher at the end of each stubby 'arm'.

"Greetings," 'he' said. "I Am The ED-300, And I Am Here To Escort You To Dr. Five. Might I Ask Your Friend The Reason He Is Moving Into A Combat Stance?"

"Just in case you say something like, oh, I don't know, 'you have fifteen seconds to comply', that sort of thing," Robin said, as the other Titans gave him bewildered looks.

"I Assure You, Master Robin," ED-300 said with a trace of haughtiness in his voice, "I Am Well Past My Predecessors' Programming With Respect To Artificial Intelligence."

"Uh, Robin, what's the big scary robot talking about?" Beast Boy asked. "And why are you doing that?"

Robin stood his ground for a moment, not answering, when he finally relaxed. "You mean you didn't hear?" Robin asked. "A few years ago, another ED, the ED-209, nearly wrecked Detroit."

"Not Through Any Fault Of His Own; Faulty Programming, Combined With Omni-Consumer Products' 'Cost-Effective' Measures Did That. Thankfully For Me, Stone Industries Has A Different Corporate Philosophy."

"Huh?" Beast Boy asked.

"Let's Say They Pay More Attention To The 'Human' In Human Resources More Seriously," ED-300 said cryptically. "Come," ED-300 added, as he walked down a passageway. "I Shall Take You To Dr. Five."

(scene change)

"I'm sorry I couldn't explain things to you on the way here," Truth said, as Blackfire tried to take in her surroundings (or rather, the lack of them).

Blackfire had remembered stepping into an archway with Truth, the mocking voice behind them growing softer as they ran, although that didn't help. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect- the softer it grew, the more Blackfire had seemed to hear it, and judging by how anxious Truth seemed to grow, so did she.

However, the place where she stood now was not only devoid of any sinister whisperings, but also everything else.

"I know it looks a bit empty," Truth said. Waving her hand over the vast white emptiness, she continued, "but it's the only place I know of where we'll be safe."

"What? Safe? _We're_ safe?" Blackfire asked frantically, and before she knew it, she had grabbed Truth by the shoulders in a vice-like grip. "What about Raven? Is she safe?"

"No, but-"

"But? There's no but!" Blackfire yelled as her fingernails dug into Truth's arms and tears streamed down from her blazing eyes. "We have to go back for her!"

"Blackfire, listen to me!" Truth shouted, before continuing softly, "She cannot escape, Blackfire. What was chasing her was like us, it was in her mind. I cannot protect her, no matter how much I want to, but…"

"But what?"

"But you can," Truth whispered, looking back at Blackfire with an expression of hope.

"What? What are you talking about?" Blackfire asked. The glow in her eyes had died down, but the tears remained as she sat down. "I'm the reason her emotions are put of control," she said, as all the mental defences she had, all the mental barriers of self denial forged and strengthened by a criminal life, all crumbled in the face of the endless white emptiness and Truth's piercing stare. "I'm the reason all this has been happening to her."

"And do you really believe that?" Truth asked, the ghost of a wry smile on her face as she sat down beside Blackfire. "You wouldn't be the Blackfire I- that is, Raven knows and loves if there wasn't a little spark inside saying otherwise," she said

Blackfire caught Truth's gaze for a moment, then let out a small laugh. "I thought you were supposed to be Raven's Truth," she said, more to herself than to anyone else, before standing up. "You wanted to show me something?"

"What about protecting Raven?"

"You said it yourself, I can't protect Raven- at least, not yet."

"I don't recall saying you could," Truth said, although there was a definite confidence in her voice now. "Why do you say 'yet'?"

"If you want to steal something, you try to figure out the security protecting it. You want to protect something, or someone, you try to figure out whoever wants to… to…" she trailed off, unwilling to even say the words, before continuing in a much more determined tone, "Isn't that why you brought me here?"

Truth smiled. "I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later."

"Sooner's better," Blackfire said curtly, as she got up. "Let's go."

"You're ready to see what you're afraid of?"

"No," Blackfire said, her eyes starting to blaze the same amethyst glow that danced upon her fists, "I'm ready to see what's going to be afraid of me."

(scene change)

"Dr. Five- You Have Heard Of Him?" ED-300 asked, as they walked down a wide passageway, passing by various white-coated scientists.

"Not really," Robin answered, "though I think Batman has his research on the Batcave's archive. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing," ED-300 replied, "I Was Simply Making Conversation. Not Many Humans Are Comfortable With Talking To Me Unless They Must–I Am Sure You Can See Why. Dr. Five Himself Isn't So Bad, But I Would Like Some Variety In My Conversations."

"This Dr. Five, he is a, a," Starfire's eyebrows scrunched up as she tried to recall unfamiliar human phrases, "a big cheese in a small pond, yes?"

If ED-300 had eyebrows, he'd have raised them. "I Have Not Heard Of Him Being Described So… Vividly, But Yes, He Is One Of Stone Industries' Leading Scientists."

"Cybernetics, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, right?" Cyborg asked.

"Ah, I See You Have Heard Of Him, Although In Your Case, I Would Not Be Surprised."

"Why not?" Beast Boy asked.

"Dr. Five was one of the guys who helped me out with all this," Cyborg said, indicating his robotic body. "Never got to meet him, though."

"Well Then," ED-300 said, as he paused next to a door. As it opened, ED-300 said "Here Is Your Chance. Greetings, Dr. Five."

"Him?" Beast Boy asked incredulously, ED-300 having led them into a massive research chamber. "_He's_ Dr. Five?"

"Affirmative," ED-300 said, and Beast Boy could swear he _heard_ the amused smile in the giant droid's voice.

"Eddie baby!" an exuberant Dr. Five said in the best sleazy Hollywood agent tradition. "Greetings! Felicitations! Hello! A-a-a-and all that jazz!" 'he' said, seamlessly switching to the rich, raspy tones of a New Orleans sax player.

But then again, considering that Dr. Five was a robot, that wasn't very surprising.

In the voice of a smiling _noveau riche_ Texas oilman this time, he introduced himself as "Five, Johnny Five, that's the name, howdy! I hope y'all's doin' fine- 'specially you, miss," he said as he proffered a mechanical hand 'gentleman fashion' to Starfire, who blushed as she took it.

In stark contrast to ED-300, who looked as if he was constructed from tank parts, then coated with chrome, Johnny Five looked like he was born out of the imaginings of a mechanically astute toddler and his first Meccano set; he looked like the product of an 80's sci-fi movie than a scientist, much less one who-

"Wait a minute," Robin said, as a sudden realization hit him. "The receptionist upstairs, she said she was your… daughter?"

"Why, yes," Dr. Five said, returning to his normal voice. He took out a wallet from his lab coat pocket and showed them a photograph, this one showing Dr. Five, along with Jenny and another attractive blond who looked exactly like her. "See? Here's me, here's Jenny, and this is Dr. Vivian Porter, Jenny's mom. Isn't Jenny cute?" A whole collection of photographs then rolled out of the wallet. "And this is Jenny before she was born- isn't that the cutest circuitry you ever saw?- and this is Jenny at-"

"Dr. Five, I Don't Think I Remember Cyborg Making An Appointment To See Family Photos," ED-300 rumbled firmly, but with a gentle indulgence that was surprising. "My Apologies," he said to the Titans, "Dr. Five Tends To Go Off Track Sometimes."

"_Mea culpa_," Dr. Five said, as he started off. Had Raven been there, she would have recognized the Father Damien Karras impersonation. "In that case, let's get started!"

(scene change)

"Not so fast," Truth said hastily, grabbing Blackfire by the shoulder as the Tameranian strode to the archway.

"And why not?" Blackfire asked, skidding on the stone path. "You said it yourself, we have to protect Raven from whatever is behind that archway-"

"Yes, I did say that- but I didn't say that we had to destroy it."

"What?" Blackfire asked incredulously, a moment before the anger arose within her. "The why did you bring me here? Sightseeing? You giving me a tour of Raven's mind, that it?"

"Yes," Truth said, and something about the starkness in her voice, in the look that she gave Blackfire cut off the Tameranian's next caustic reply. "I need you to understand the danger Raven is in, not fight it."

"Why not?"

"Because you can't, not without destroying Raven."

"What?" Blackfire asked, even more bewildered.

"Let me show you," Truth said, taking Blackfire's hand.

Then, as one, they stepped into the inky darkness of the archway-

-into Hell.

At least, that was what it seemed to be. As she and Truth came out of an archway seemingly constructed of chunks of metal twisted into impossible shapes, shapes that pained both the mind and eye, she stepped onto a metal ring, suspended in what appeared to be a raging storm where black clouds endlessly shifted forms and traded lightning bolts as they flew at unnatural speeds in a red void.

As Blackfire took all of this in, she started to hear a whispering, loud enough to be heard, but too quiet to understand. And then, it started to grow in intensity, but not volume, the whispering becoming more and more insistent _invading_ and Blackfire held her hands to her head to block out the sound _the pain_ and soon she heard somebody scream _it was her she didn't know but it was her it was her screaming_

"Blackfire," a voice said, and as it did so, Blackfire felt the whispering die down.

"Truth?" Blackfire asked. Her voice was that of a small child who, waking up after a nightmare, did not believe that for one terrible moment that she wasn't really awake, that the image of her mother over her signaled not the end of the nightmare, but only its beginning-

"Shh," Truth said, holding her finger to her lips. She placed her hands on Blackfire's shoulders, and as she did so, Blackfire felt the fear, the madness, drain out of her. But Blackfire's peace came at a price- as Truth healed Blackfire, she seemed to age; for one instant Blackfire saw a wizened crone, frail, weak,

_dying_

where there was a teenage girl the moment before. "Don't worry," Truth said unconvincingly, when she saw that look Blackfire was giving her, "I'll be all right-"

"Oh please, Truth, don't lie. It doesn't become you."

Both Blackfire and Truth found themselves turning to the center of the ring, where the voice had come from. What had appeared to be another shifting cloud in the void was another Aspect, its cloak, frayed and tattered at the edges, seeming to shift from red to black and back again before Blackfire's eyes. As it turned, Blackfire's eyes, in an unconscious attempt at mental self defence, first took in the way the ripped clothes of the Aspect didn't detract from its overall looks; each ripped scrap of cloth only seemed to enhance its seductiveness-

-and then Blackfire noticed the Aspect's eyes.

Four slits rested where two eyes should have been, each of them glowing

_burning_

red with profane glee at seeing Blackfire's revulsion. "What's the matter, Blackfire, don't like what you see?" it said coyly, before turning around again, showing off its sinuous body to an unwilling audience.

"Stop it," Truth said, and for the first time, Blackfire heard the overtones of… terror, in Truth's voice.

She wasn't the only one. "What's the matter, Truth?" the other Aspect said, sneering wickedly. "Your little plan all falling apart? I turned out to be far, far more powerful than even Wisdom thought? Well, guess again," it said.

Suddenly, Blackfire found herself standing alone, as, with a wave of the other Aspect's hand, Truth was pushed onto the ground by an invisible force, skidding several feet to land 'unconscious' at the base of the archway.

Before Blackfire could aid Truth, however, she found herself face to face with the Aspect, which had seemingly covered the intervening space between them in a moment.

"Never mind about her," the Aspect said in rich, sultry tones, as it gently took Blackfire's hand, stroking it up and down. "Let's talk about… us."

"Get away from me," Blackfire snarled, readying a starbolt.

"Oh please, Blackfire," the Aspect laughed, "Did you actually think you had any power here?"

Suddenly, Blackfire was pushed over the edge of the ring into the void, where she found to her horror, she could not fly anymore, and she was doomed, doomed to spend an eternity falling, screaming through an endless void, forever falling-

"Anything else you want to get out of your system?"

Blackfire looked around, bewildered and frightened. "I was- I was-"

"That's right, Blackfire," the Aspect whispered, "you were falling, and you would have kept on falling if it weren't for me saving you? See? I can be nice too," it said airily. "Now, about us…"

"What do you want?"

"Nice! From fear to anger in less than three seconds!" the Aspect said happily, clapping its hands. "I can see why _I_ like you!"

"I'm flattered."

"You should be," the Aspect said, flying around Blackfire. "I normally don't do 'like'. Oh, where are my manners? I'm… oh dear, you know what? I don't even have a name!"

"I got a few," Blackfire retorted, never taking her eyes off the Aspect.

"I'm sure you do," the Aspect said indulgently. "Let's see now, I used to be called Fear, or Anger, depending on my mood, but all that seems so passé. Ooh, I've got it! Okay, Blackfire, let's try this one: Ahem, hello, Blackfire," it said cheerfully, holding out a hand, "I'm Madness, how are you? Oh, come on, Blackfire, shake! I know you want to- after all," it said, its sneer growing even wider, "I'm the real Raven, not that white robed Girl Scout."

_You sure you're not Stupidity?_ Blackfire wanted to retort, but mindful of the chasm, contented herself with a succinct "Go frell yourself."

"It's true!" Madness said. "Where do you think Raven's powers? From me! Where does Raven get her inner strength? You get three guesses, and any answer that isn't me, doesn't count. I'm the true essence of who Raven is, not her, or her lackeys!" it continued, indicating the prone figure near the archway.

"You're really taking this 'Madness' thing seriously, aren't you?" Blackfire said.

Madness grinned, exposing rows of sharpened teeth. "You mock me, Blackfire, but I expected that. After all, you've done such a good job convincing the universe you've gone good, all that's left to convince is yourself. Oh come on, Blackfire," Madness said, seeing the look Blackfire gave it, "Did you expect me to believe you could give up your old self so easily? You may be able to fool even yourself, but I can see the truth. You haven't changed, Blackfire, you could never change! You are, and always will be a selfish, self-centered child!"

"That's a lie!" Blackfire burst out.

"Oh really?" Madness stopped her ghostly orbit of Blackfire, and landed to stand in front of the Tameranian. "Look me in the eye and tell me that you don't miss your old life, that you've forgiven your father, that you wish that you had the power to control people instead of just helping them. Come on, Blackfire, any one of those things, I can wait."

Blackfire wanted to answer, but her retort died in her throat.

"Didn't. Think. So." Madness said, its sneer reappearing. "So here's the thing: A friend of mine is going to help me with something, something that's going to happen soon –can't tell you, it'll ruin the surprise- but you'll know it when it comes, and when it does, you stay out of the way while me and Raven get… reacquainted, okay?"

"Bite me!" Blackfire said, before she could stop herself.

Not that she would have cared otherwise…

Her fangs bared, it looked for a moment as if Madness was about to take Blackfire up on her offer, when- "Oh silly me!" it said, slapping itself on the side of its head comically. "I forgot to tell you what was in it for you!"

"Let me guess," Blackfire said mockingly, "everything I ever wanted, right?"

And there it was; a crack in Madness's civil façade. "What's the matter? Power, wealth, love, everything you ever dreamed of- don't you want any of it?"

Blackfire was silent for a moment, before saying softly, her words somehow louder than the raging storm around her, "Yeah, of course I want all of that, who doesn't?"

"So, what's the problem-"

"The problem is," Blackfire said, her voice rising, "that they're not important to me, not anymore. You're right," Blackfire said, looking Madness straight in the eye. "I _am_ a selfish, self-centered child, and you know what that means? It means Raven's _mine_, and I'm not going to let you, or her father, or anyone else mess around with her! At least," she continued with a devlish smirk, "not without a _really_ bad tantrum."

There was a short pause before Madness replied "Blackfire, Blackfire, Blackfire," with barely suppressed anger. "Do you realize who you're speaking to? Do you even remember what I can do to you? What I _did_ to you? You cannot comprehend the power I have here!"

"No, I can't," Blackfire said, hoping her gamble would pay off. "But she can."

With a start, Madness looked behind it, where Truth calmly stood in front of the archway.

"You again," it snarled, before turning back to Blackfire. "I'll take care of you later-"

Its words were cut off, partially because of shock, but mostly due to the lower half of its face being pushed into the dirt. Spitting gravel, it returned its attention to Truth, who didn't seem to have moved an inch from her serene pose.

Before Madness could respond with a murderous strike of her own, however-

-"Payback time," Blackfire said, jumping in front of Madness, a handful of gravel in her hand.

"Good work, throwing the gravel into Madness's eyes," Truth said, as Blackfire ran towards the archway, Madness holding her face. "But I think punching Madness in the nose was a bit too much."

"Yeah, well," Blackfire said dismissively, although there was a distinct anxiousness in her voice. "Look, can we get out of here already?"

"Of course," Truth said, turning around, the portal coming to life in a flash of white-red lightning.

"Where are you going, Blackfire?" Madness screeched insanely, as she saw through burning eyes the Tameranian jump into the portal, and out of the Aspect's reach. "We're not done yet! WE'RE NOT-"

(scene change)

"-done yet?" Beast Boy asked as Starfire came up to his seat in the cafeteria, where he was eating a tofu sandwich.

"I beg your pardon, Beast Boy?" Starfire asked, sitting down next to him.

"I said, 'Are they done yet?'" he repeated.

Starfire shook her head. "They were still testing out… testing out…" she trailed off, unable to find the words.

Beast Boy laughed. "Let me guess, you couldn't figure out what they were talking about either."

Starfire nodded. "I must admit, the words they were using were long and strange, and so very often I thought they were speaking obscure dialects of the peoples of the Praxatibel Empire. But," Starfire admitted hesitantly, "that was not the only reason I had come here."

"What? You're not hungry?"

Starfire shook her head gently. "I had wanted to ask you if I could help."

Help? Okay, getting creepy. "Huh? Uh, what do you mean, Star?" Beast Boy asked.

"You had seemed… troubled this morning. Especially after Raven said she wanted to stay with my sister at the Tower," she replied.

Inwardly, Beast Boy gasped. "I, uh, I didn't think you noticed," he said lamely.

"I did not," Starfire admitted, just as sheepishly. "Robin did. He asked me to come here and ask you what was wrong."

"What's the matter?" Beast Boy snapped, bitterness creeping into his voice. "He's too cool to come here himself?"

There was silence for a moment. Then Starfire said flatly, "I had made a mistake coming here. I am sorry for offending you, Beast Boy, I shall leave now."

She got up to walk away when Beast Boy took hold of her hand. "Hey Star, wait," he said plaintively. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said about Robin."

Starfire stood silent for a moment, her back to Beast Boy, before turning around and sitting next to him again. "You should not say such things about him," she said, an uncharacteristic note of steel in her voice. "He did want to speak to you himself when he saw you leave Dr. Johnny Five's laboratory."

"So why didn't he?"

"I asked him not to," Starfire explained. "If Cyborg or Dr. Johnny Five needed help, he would be able to help them better than I could." A wistful smile crept across her face; she probably wasn't even aware of it. "And although I should not say this, Robin is not very good with talking to people."

Beast Boy grinned in agreement. "Yeah, I guess you're right- musta been all those years he was with Batman." He sighed. "But at least he has you with him."

"Is that why you are troubled?" Starfire asked. "Because Raven and my sister are together?"

_Together, and alone in the Tower_, Beast Boy wanted to say, but although he didn't think Starfire'd get it, he didn't want to risk hurting her.

Or him.

"Something like that, yeah," he replied. "I mean, doesn't it bother _you?_"

"Why should it?" Starfire asked, honestly bewildered.

"I mean- that is- What I'm-" Beast Boy struggled to find the right words to describe how he felt. "Look, Starfire, what if, instead of Raven, your sister had a thing for Robin? And what if he fell for her too? How would you feel?"

Starfire considered this. "I would be sad, of course-"

"See? That's what I'm talking about!"

"-but if they truly cared for each other, then I would not get in their way."

"Exactly- huh, what? Starfire, what are you talking about?" Beast Boy asked, flabbergasted.

"I do not know how it is with humans, but on my homeworld, if you cared for somebody, then you would wish for them to find happiness, and if the only way for Robin to be truly happy was to be with someone else, then that is the way it should be."

"But Starfire… what if- what if you thought that, that, that Robin would get hurt, or something? Wouldn't you want to do something about it? You know, try to protect him or something?"

"Of course I would," she said, "but I would not try to break Raven- I mean, Robin and Blackfire apart. I cannot decide whom Robin wishes to care for, and if you truly cared for Raven, you should not decide for her either."

"But, well, no offence Starfire, but what if she's making a mistake? I mean, what if I think she's making a mistake?"

"What if she is not making a mistake?" she asked gently. "What if Blackfire really makes her happy? Would it not be selfish if you did not at least give Raven and my sister a chance to see if they would be happy together?"

Beast Boy looked down, both figuratively and literally. "Well, gee, Starfire," he said softly, "I guess I never thought of it that way. Thanks, Starfire, that- that really helped."

Starfire beamed. "You are welcome, Beast Boy," she said. "Is there anything else you wish to talk about?"

"Nah, I'm good," Beast Boy said, smiling wanly. "You wanna help me finish this?" he asked, pointing to his tray. "We can go see what Robin and Cyborg are doing after we're done."

Starfire nodded, and she tucked into the meal with gusto, but Beast Boy barely touched his food.

He had other things to think about.

(scene change)

"You know, Truth," Blackfire panted, as she got off the ground in front of the archway she and Truth fell out of, "I've been thinking- you weren't really unconscious back there, were you?"

"Of course not," Truth replied, also getting up, the familiar dark, starry void adding a welcome sense of familiarity, insofar as familiarity could be obtained. "Madness was also surprised, although it didn't really show."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Blackfire said dismissively. "And, and- let me catch my breath first," Blackfire said, her hands on her knees, "and the reason you pretended to be out was so I'd see Raven's dark little secret up close and personal, right? Not to mention that this whole so-called 'date' was just you plan to get me to see what Raven was up against in her own mind."

Truth nodded. "Was there something you wanted to know, Blackfire?"

"Yeah, there is," Blackfire said. "How does Raven's so-called 'Truth'," she said, as Truth started laughing, "get to be so good at fooling others?"

"As good as you?" Truth asked, smiling.

"Now, now, you don't change the subject," Blackfire said, fully aware that she was doing that exact same thing, realizing Truth knew she was doing so, and not really caring about it.

"To be perfectly honest with you, Blackfire, Raven has always been a good liar; that dark energy I- sorry- _she_ uses so much isn't the only thing her father passed down to her. If she wanted to she could reach into people's minds and make them do whatever she wanted them to, among other things."

"So why doesn't she?" Blackfire asked.

"Because like you, she chose not to," Truth said. "Tell me, Blackfire," she asked, growing serious, "why Raven? And don't _you_ think of changing the subject again."

"Um, doesn't Raven know already?" Blackfire asked.

"Maybe, maybe not," Truth said enigmatically. "You can't escape this one, Blackfire."

Blackfire tried to think of another evasion, but whether it because she was drunk with relief after escaping Madness, or whether it was the realization that it wasn't any use hiding it from herself anymore, or a combination of the two, or even the reassuring smile Truth was giving her, she decided to confess.

"I guess," she began. "I guess it's because I admire Raven- I mean, you."

"You mean, you admire Raven," Truth said. "There isn't really any difference between us. And I don't think you're telling me the whole truth. Admiring someone, that's one thing. Falling in love with them, that's another."

"You sure Ego's not in there somewhere?"

All Blackfire got in response was Truth smiling back at her in knowing silence.

"Fine," Blackfire said, throwing up her arms. "You want to know why I'm in love with Raven? It's because she has so much power within her, but instead of using it all to do whatever she wants, she chooses to use just enough to help people. Even when it hurt her- no, even when she almost _died_ trying to control her powers, she did it all the same. Just so other people wouldn't get hurt."

She sat down, resting her back against a large stone in the path. "Me?" she asked, shaking her head ruefully, more to herself than to Truth, "I couldn't do that- I just don't have the kind of strength Raven has. I know it's- it's- there's a human word for it, something to do with vegetables- Cabbagey? Oatey? Wheatie?"

"Corny?" Truth asked, sitting down next to Blackfire.

"That's it! I know it's corny, and maybe even selfish, but when I think of all the time I've spent with Raven, and when I think of all the things she's been through," here she pointed to the archway, "I don't feel like a failure anymore- I feel like I could be something better than a thief. A _good_ thief, come on, let's be honest, but a thief all the same."

For a second, nobody spoke. Then Truth piped up, "You're right, Blackfire, it was corny-"

"Oh wow, thanks," Blackfire said, laughing.

"-but not selfish."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to know why Raven loves you?"

"I don't know, you're not going to try fool me again, are you?"

"If I did, you'd never know, would you? Guess you'll just have to trust me."

"Let's pretend I do."

"What if I told you it had nothing to do with your looks?"

"Okay, now you're either telling the whole truth, or a complete lie."

Truth laughed. "Well, this is one of the reasons," she said through her mirth.

"My sense of humour?"

"Your sense of _life_," Truth said. "I know it doesn't sound like much, but being with you has taught Raven that maybe her emotions aren't always something she should be afraid of. That maybe it's okay, maybe even better, to choose to let some emotions run free."

"But- but all those times, when she lost control of her powers-"

"-were not your fault," Truth said. "Raven knew that was bound to happen sooner or later- and to tell the truth, she was quite relieved that they weren't as bad as she had thought they would be."

Truth ran her hand through Blackfire's hair. "To tell the truth, she suspects that she has you to thank for it. I'm sure you can figure out why."

"Oh, um, well… you're welcome?" Blackfire asked, blushing furiously, her normally rock-solid self-confidence disintegrating.

Truth laughed and gave Blackfire a quick peck on the lips. "Come on, Blackfire," she said, standing up. "Time's a wasting, and we've got to wake me up."

As they walked back, a disturbing thought occurred, or rather, re-occurred to Blackfire. "Back there, Madness said that something's going to happen soon, something that would get her 're-acquainted' with Raven, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember now," Truth said. "Funny, I almost forgot about it," she said, sounding worried.

"Maybe Madness was using some of her power to try make us forget?" Blackfire ventured. "Look, she failed, and that's that. What I want to know now is what that 'something' is."

"I don't know either, and that scares me," Truth admitted. "Perhaps it has something to do with Legion? She did mention a friend of hers."

"But it's not like Legion and Madness have ever even met- and I don't even want to think about them getting together," Blackfire said, but like not thinking about pink elephants, she thought about Madness and Legion 'getting together'- and turned nearly as green as Beast Boy.

Not having a stomach, Truth was marginally more able to register the mental imagery. "That can wait until later," she said, Blackfire nodding in agreement. "For now, let's just get Raven to

wake up," Blackfire said gently.

"Wake up?" Raven asked groggily, rolling over in the soft yellow grass. "How long was I asleep?" she said, stretching.

"I… don't exactly remember," Blackfire said, before giving Raven a short kiss. "But maybe that's because I fell asleep too," she added.

"Where are the others?"

"What? The other Ravens?"

"They're called Aspects, Blackfire."

"Whatever," Blackfire said. "I guess they fell asleep when you did, maybe?" she said, shrugging. "As I said, it's your mind, Raven."

"And this was our date," Raven said, memories flooding back into her sleepy mind. "Sorry about falling asleep."

"Hey, no problem," Blackfire said generously, "With a place as peaceful as this, who could help it?" She turned to Raven, and asked, all innocence, "So, Raven, have any interesting dreams while you were asleep?"

"I can't remember any," Raven replied. "You?"

"Nope, that's why I asked you. Speaking of interesting dreams, you have anything like that in this pretty little head of yours?"

"Well, there's always Bravery's forest…"

"Well then, what are we waiting for?"

(scene change)

"You're back late," Raven remarked as she opened the Tower doors for her friends.

"Sorry about that," Robin said. "We kinda got carried away with Cyborg's upgrades. How was your date with Blackfire?"

"Long," Raven said. "We just got back, actually. Hey Cyborg-"

She raised an eyebrow. "Er, Cyborg, you sure you got those upgrades you wanted? I'm not seeing a lot of difference."

"Not on the outside, Rae, not on the out-saaahde!" Cyborg said exuberantly, knocking on his metal plating.

"Looks like someone's happy," Raven remarked drily.

"Raven, you ain't seen nothing yet," Cyborg said, pointing behind Raven-

-to where Starfire was, a split second before she caught Raven in a bear hug. "Oh Raven, we had so much fun at Cyborg's father's laboratory with Dr. Johnny Five and Mr. Ed the robot and we helped Cyborg with his forcefields and rockets and laser and armor and when Beast Boy helped out with the rocket testing there were all these explosions and-"

"Oookay, heheh, thank you, Starfire!" Beast Boy said, parts of his costume marred by soot and scorch marks. "What can I say," he offered Raven by way of embarrassed explanation, "I'm not too good at the technical stuff. But hey, we had fun, it was a good day, and that's what counts, right?"

"Speaking of good days, Raven," Robin said, "how was your date with Blackfire, if you don't mind me asking?" He looked around. "Where is she, anyway?"

"She's upstairs, taking a bath. As for our date, it was… relaxing," Raven said.

"That's a relief," Beast Boy said quietly to himself. It was hard enough getting himself used to the idea of Blackfire and Raven together; getting used to the thought of them… well, he knew what he meant! Getting used to that thought was something for another day altogether.

Or maybe another month.

Let's say another year, just to be sure.

Beast Boy sighed, as the sounds of conversation went around him. A year; like he would have that much time- after all it was only a matter of time before, well, they got married, or something, and Legion would-

Beast Boy's breath stopped in his throat as terror gripped him: Legion!

For a minute, Beast Boy toyed with the idea of never answering Legion, of never giving him the benefit of the doubt, never mind an answer.

But then he thought of what might happen if Legion came after him, what Legion would say- and what Raven would think…

No; he started this, and he was going to finish it. Alone, no matter what the cost.

Now if he could keep from crumpling into a fetal ball and whimpering until then…

(scene change)

Blackfire couldn't sleep.

She wanted to think it was because of any leftover excitement from the small party she and the rest of the Titans had; ostensibly because they wanted to celebrate Cyborg's new upgrades, but everybody knew that that was just an excuse for them to play video games, eat lots of junk food, and simply do the things that friends did when they got together.

One of the reasons for her insomnia was that she was, surprise, surprise, worried sick about Raven. Yeah, she understood what Raven was going through, but she still didn't have any idea what to do about it.

The main, reason for her sleeplessness, was however, a great deal more prosaic: too much junk food too late at night equals too much indigestion. For all their apparent advantages over humans in terms of strength, powers and such, Tameranian digestive systems were actually more delicate than their human cousins.

After getting out from bed and tiptoeing to the common room, Blackfire swallowed a few indigestion tablets and flopped down on the couch, waiting for them to take effect.

Then, footsteps. These were not quiet footsteps, more like trying-to-be-quiet footsteps.

In other words, the footsteps of an amateur.

Blackfire moved into a combat stance and quietly moved towards the sound of the footsteps. She didn't ready her starbolts, though; for all she knew, one of the other Titans might have been having indigestion too. Hells, they might be sleepwalking for all she knew.

_Okay, I was half right_, she thought as she saw Beast Boy walking toward the stairwell. Thankfully, he hadn't shifted into any of his animal forms; had he done so, he would have seen Blackfire for sure. Either he was getting sloppy, or he was in too much of a hurry to bother changing-

_Or maybe he doesn't care if he's being followed._

With that thought in mind, Blackfire decided to double back to her room and exit via the window. At least she'd have more of an advantage fighting in the air than she did on the ground. Having decided on a course of action, she flew down to the entrance of the Tower, and waited in the bushes for Beast Boy.

It wasn't a long wait.

Beast Boy came out of the Tower, and having decided that nobody was following him, changed his form into that of an eagle and flew off into the night, Blackfire following stealthily behind him, making sure to keep out of the eagle's field of vision. It wasn't very hard though; being in a predator's form, Beast Boy's field of vision was severely limited, and when combined witht the lights, hustle and bustle of Jump City, the task of following him was almost too easy.

Soon, Beast Boy appeared to be coming in for a landing at a bus stop near the ruined warehouse district. Her curiosity fully piqued by now, Blackfire landed near, and entered the ground floor of the adjacent building; occupied as it was by a few homeless people sleeping off a drunken binge, judging by the many empty whisky bottles nearby, Blackfire felt it was a safe, if not too fragrant, hiding place.

Beast Boy seemed to jump a little; whatever he had come here for, was-

_Legion!_

Blackfire put her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle a gasp of shock. Of all the treacherous, evil things- Legion? So this is the 'someone' Madness was talking about; it must have sensed Beast Boy's treachery, even when Raven herself did not.

Blackfire prepared to launch a barrage of starbolts, when she stopped herself; she couldn't just attack Beast Boy and run, she had the other Titans to answer to. She needed to prove her actions to them.

Thinking quickly, she pressed a few buttons on her communicator. If she did it in just the right sequence, then the Tower's red alert alarms should be screaming by now, while individual communicators remained silent. The, Blackfire pressed a few more buttons, activating a few more failsafes. If she played her cards (or rather, pressed her buttons) right, then the Titans should all be awake, and listening in to whatever is being said in the vicinity of Beast Boy's communicator.

Despite the situation she found herself in, Blackfire smiled. She amazed herself sometimes.

Wait-

"Beast Boy!" Legion said cheerfully as he came up to the Titan. "I didn't expect to hear from you again so soon! You thought about my offer already?"

_Yeah, Beast Boy, you thought about his offer yet?_ Blackfire thought. _Let's see how my _real_ friends think about it._

"Look, Beast Boy," Legion added, "I've been thinking about our deal, and I have decided to make it rather simpler for you."

"Oh really?" Beast Boy asked in tones of idle curiosity. "How?"

"Well, regarding the part of our deal where I dispose of Blackfire-"

**_EXCUSE ME?_**

"-you can set up the details of the, shall we say, 'incident', if you find it more convenient. You know, give me the name of a bank I'll rob, or something along those lines, and then when the Titans come charging in, well, accidents happen, don't they? It is a dangerous occupation you're in, after all."

"Well, Legion," Beast Boy began, "that's a good plan, actually-"

"_-so let's get started, Legion!" Come on, Beast Boy, say it!_

"-but the deal's off."

_Just as I had expect- what?_

The same thought seemed to be going through Legion's mind. "What… what did you say, Beast Boy?"

"I said: No," Beast Boy replied, in the serene tones of one who has finally accepted the fact that he is going to die, and that there's nothing else but to face it head on without fear. "The deal's off, Legion. I'm not betraying my friends."

"But she is not one of your friends!" Legion shouted, his voice dripping with malice, anger… and maybe a touch of betrayal? "Have I not explained this to you? You love Raven, you have given your heart to her, and yet-"

"And yet she hasn't done anything than- than be herself," Beast Boy said, the light of dawning realization in his voice. "The thing is, Legion, if I let you change Raven into someone else so she could love me, then, well, I wouldn't love her anymore."

"What, you're saying you love her because she's a lesbian?" Legion asked, an eyebrow raised. "You're more male than I thought."

"No, no, it's not that," Beast Boy said. He felt as if he was flying- no, soaring, and there was no way he could have stopped himself, even if he wanted to. "All I ever wanted to do was to make Raven happy, and if that means keeping her and Blackfire together, then yeah, no problem."

There was a long pause, while Legion and Beast Boy looked at each other, gazes locked. "In the interests of clearing up any and all misunderstandings," Legion began, "allow me to reiterate: You came here, to our designated meeting place-"

"Yep," Beast Boy chirped with horrible cheerfulness.

"-with the intent of refusing a deal-"

"Yep."

"-with a demon of, if I might say so myself, no small power-"

"Yep."

"-all by yourself, without any backup."

"Yep. So, you want to start the fight now, or what?"

After a long pause, Legion finally said, "You must be either inspiringly brave, or irredeemably stupid. Knowing you, Beast Boy, it's most probably both."

"What can I say?" Beast Boy replied, "I wanted to see if two wrongs made a right."

And then, to Beast Boy's and Blackfire's surprise, Legion started laughing- it wasn't a maniacal laugh, like they had been expecting, but the hearty laugh of someone who had finally got the joke.

"I don't know why I'm so surprised," he said, through his guffaws and giggles. "I should have known that you were just too noble to betray your friends. Oh don't look at me like that, Beast Boy, I'm not going to kill you."

"You're not?"

"Of course not, Beast Boy! Truth be told, I like you. I don't respect you, of course, but I like you. When my Master takes over your plane of existence, I'll be sure to do whatever I can to spare you."

"I don't know, wouldn't it be kinda hard to do that without Raven?"

"Impossible, actually, but since I've got the perfect bait…"

"Like I said, you want a fight," Beast Boy said, changing his form into that of a tiger, "you got a fight."

"Oh, Beast Boy, I'm not talking about you," Legion said.

Suddenly, his eyes fell across the window where Blackfire had been peeking out of. "I'm talking about_ her_."

Blackfire jumped backwards, starbolts ready this time, but as she did, she briefly felt an extremely painful burning sensation in her back before her legs gave way, everything went dark.

"What did you do to her?" an enraged Beast Boy growled, his words understandable even coming from a tiger's mouth.

"Nothing much," Legion said, as several of his clones dressed as homeless people carried an unconscious Blackfire out, "I simply administered a strong electric shock directly to her nervous system. Don't worry, Beast Boy, she isn't dead. However, that state of affairs could very well change should you attempt to make a move upon my person, or fail to tell your friends, in a timely fashion, of course, what has transpired here tonight, as well as all its sordid causational details."

He brought his face closer to Beast Boy's. "That means," he whispered, "if you don't go back now and tell your friends what happened, and why they happened, you're going to have to explain to Raven why she had to identify Blackfire's carcass from the fingerprints." He stood up to walk away, when he paused. "Do her people even have fingerprints?" he mused. "Ah well, it doesn't matter. See you, Beast Boy."

He turned, aand paused again. "And next time- if there is a next time, as I hope there will be- remember, Beast Boy: When dealing with demons, the demon will always get his way, one way or another."

And as he said so, he took Blackfire's limp body from his clones with one hand, and, machete in the other, stabbed into the air. A jagged 'tear' appeared, and with one last mocking wave to beast Boy, Legion and Blackfire disappeared into it. Beast Boy tried to jump in at the last minute, but it was too late- the rift had closed.

As the Legion clones dissipated into nothingness, Beast Boy, now back in human form, broke into tears, tears that glinted by the light of the fires of the abandoned.

_Author's note: Due to it being NaNoWriMo (check it out at there will be no more updates of my fics, TT or KP for the month of November, and possibly the first two weeks of December. I hope I have your understanding, and accept my apologies._

_Additional disclaimers: Johnny Five, the ED series of enforcement droids, and Father Damien Karras are the intellectual properties of their registered owners. I infer no ownership of the aforementioned characters in this work of fiction._


	12. Anger Management

**Chapter Twelve: Anger Management**

See Beast Boy run.

Run, Beast Boy, run.

See Beast Boy run wildly through the streets of Jump City.

See Beast Boy too distressed to even think about changing into an animal form.

See beast Boy pick up his communicator once or twice, only to place it back on his belt.

He is not having fun.

Run, Beast Boy, run.

See Beast Boy run.

See Beast Boy slow down for a few moments now and then.

See that it is not fatigue, but fear that causes him to do this.

See the terror in his eyes.

See him pick up speed again.

Run, Beast Boy, run.

See Beast Boy run.

_It wasn't my fault, Raven- I mean, she followed me, it wasn't my fault, I wasn't going to listen to him anyway…_

See Beast Boy smirk in disbelief.

See Beast Boy experience the first coherent thought to enter his mind since Blackfire was taken.

He doesn't believe that, and he doesn't think Raven would either.

He darts in and out of what sparse traffic there is at this time of night; it is actually more dangerous now- even in the city, danger fills empty roads.

Animal instincts, not coherent thought, are all that keeps Beast Boy alive as he runs to the Tower.

His feet feel as heavy as lead bricks, but he runs.

His mind is a senseless fog, but he runs.

Run Beast Boy, run.

See Beast Boy run.

Beast Boy fell to his knees, panting, at the doors of the Tower. Adrenalin and desperation had done their work; now as they receded, it was as if the green boy's lungs had been set afire, and the ice running through his veins and chilling his heart weren't doing anything to remedy the situation either.

He raised a hand to open the doors of the Tower, only to reach into darkness, as it opened before him.

"Beast Boy?" Starfire whispered.

Beast Boy hesitated. Even in his distracted state he could sense the distress in Starfire's voice. "Starfire? What's wrong?"

"It is not safe for you to be here, Beast Boy," Starfire said.

"What? Why?"

"Robin and Cyborg went out to look for you," Starfire said, ignoring the question. "You must find them-"

"Starfire, what's wrong?" Beast Boy asked insistedly.

"Isn't it obvious?" a voice said from the darkness of the stairwell behind Starfire.

"Raven?" Beast Boy asked, his voice trembling. Now that he thought of it, the stairwell was a little too dark to be natural-

"How could you, Beast Boy?" she said angrily, emerging from the shadows. Although her raised hood covered her upper face, Beast Boy could see that tears were running down her cheeks.

"You… you know?" Beast Boy asked dumbly.

"The whole Tower knows," Raven replied, advancing. "_I_ know."

"It is not his fault, Raven!" Starfire protested, placing herself between the Azerath and Beast Boy.

"Out of the way, Starfire," Raven threatened.

"You cannot do this, Raven! Did you not hear what I said? What happened was not his fault!"

"It _is_ his fault! It's all his fault!" Raven shouted, small pieces of rock and dust falling from the ceiling as the Tower shook. Then Starfire and Beast Boy saw something neither of them wanted to ever see again.

In the depths of Raven's hood, four narrow eyes glowed red, as red as the glow that started to surround her.

"Starfire, don't do this," Beast Boy whispered, as a small part of his mind begged him not to say it. "It's me she-"

"No, Beast Boy," Starfire replied, and perhaps even she was surprised at the steel in her voice. "What she is doing is not right. You have done nothing wrong. Besides," she added, "you are my friend."

" 'Your friend'," Raven (if that was who she still was) mocked. "You listen to him because he's your 'friend'. What about me, Starfire? I'm not one of your 'friends'?"

"Are you?" Starfire whispered.

Perhaps it was the look she gave Raven. Perhaps it was how much she resembled her older sister in that moment of quiet defiance.

Or perhaps it was simply the question…

Suddenly, the darkness seemed to recede around her, and the glow both within and without disappeared as suddenly as they came. "I… I just want her back," Raven said softly. She looked up with distressed eyes towards Starfire and Beast Boy. "I just want her back."

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Beast Boy looking back. "We'll get her back, Raven," he said. There was no mistaking the guilt-driven determination in his voice.

Or the uncharacteristic desire for bloody-

(scene change)

"Vengeance," Legion finally said, massaging his knuckles as he stood over Blackfire, "is very therapeutic, isn't it? Quite catharitic, actually, if I might say so myself."

Droplets of Blackfire's blood, dripping from her mouth, splattered lightly across the floor of her prison. Her most recent memory was waking up after she felt a stinging pain on her cheek, only to find herself in a huge, power-draining 'cage' similar to the one used by the Puppet King to imprison the Titans, set into the rockface of what seemed to be a sheer cliff.

Before she could say anything, before Legion said anything, he simply let loose with a barrage of punches and kicks that left Blackfire reeling. The fact that her arms and legs were chained together with the same material as the cage was made of proved to be the deciding factor in her resistance efforts, i.e. none.

Despite the beating she endured, however, she turned her bruised and battered face upwards to Legion and smiled. "So that's why you haven't killed me yet. You're going soft," she mocked.

Legion snorted. "The thought of killing you in as bloody a fashion as I could imagine was tempting, make no mistake," he said, as he started to pace around the cell. "But, surely you of all people should understand the pleasures of a slow, painful death. Not to mention the fact that to simply end it here and now, especially after all we've been through," he added sarcastically, "would have been hardly appropriate."

Blackfire pushed herself against the bars of her cage so she could sit. "Never knew you respected me so mu-"

Her words were cut off as Legion suddenly lunged with surprising speed at her throat. "Respect you?" he said in a voice cold with anger. "How dare you," he snarled, as his eyes narrowed to reptilian slits, "how _dare_ you even think I would stoop so low as to consider you and the rest of your worthless mortal kind equals, worthy of _my _respect! I am Legion, most favoured servant of Trigon! And you are nothing more than a worthless mortal!"

"You keep telling yourself that," Blackfire sputtered defiantly, the words escaping her mouth before the brain (or the heart) could catch up.

Legion's face darkened with rage, and as Blackfire watched, he pulled out one of his long knives, pulled it back for the killing blow-

"Stop."

Legion didn't even see Blackfire's eyes widen; he was already swinging his black blade behind him with blinding speed at-

"Now, now, Legion," the red-cloaked Madness said, as Legion's blade cut through the ethereal form it had taken, "don't be hasty."

"Raven!" a shocked Legion exclaimed.

"Raven? Pfft! 'Trigon's finest', yeah right," Madness teased it waved its hand.

Blackfire felt an involuntary sense of relief sweep over her as she managed to catch her breath; Legion being apparently too preoccupied with falling to his knees and clutching his head.

Then, two black blades fell to the cell floor, as Legion, contrite, prostrated himself in front of the shade. "Mistress…" he said hoarsely.

"Mistress?" she laughed. "No, not yet, Legion. For now, I'm what you would call an Aspect of Raven's personality. Blackfire knows me," it finished with an unkind smirk, as it saw the look on Blackfire's face. "Can't figure it out yourself, Blackfire? Poor little Raven is _sooo_ heartbroken over you that she can't even keep her thoughts in line." It sneered at the captive Tameranian. "I'll let you figure the rest out yourself."

"Oh, I wasn't wondering about that," Blackfire retorted, her voice coming back to her. "I just thought_ you_ finally figured things out."

"What are you talking about?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Backfire retorted witheringly. "No matter how powerful you become, or should I say, think you become, Raven still manages to push you around, doesn't she? I'll let _you_ figure the rest out yourself."

Madness walked in front of Blackfire, its four eyes narrowing to angered slits. "Do you know why I'm keeping you alive, Blackfire?"

Blackfire didn't, but she'll be damned if she let Madness gain the upper hand. "To torture me with monologue?" She glanced over at Legion. "Successfully?"

Madness knelt down and leaned forward until its face was just a few inches away from Blackfire's, then, unexpectedly, broke into a huge smile. "I can see why Raven likes you so much," it said, as it caressed Blackfire's cheek lightly with a ghostly hand. Even though she didn't feel anything solid touch her, Blackfire still drew back in revulsion.

"For- forgive me, Mistress," Legion said, his usual cold, arrogant tone replaced by one of fawning servility. "But I- I was under the impression that Blackfire would have been too dangerous to keep alive."

"Let me guess," Madness replied, its eyes still on Blackfire. "You thought of using Blackfire simply as bait, didn't you? You'd bring her here, kill her, and then wait for the Titans to come get her, right? I see she's still got her communicator."

"It is not simply that, Mistress," Legion explained ingratiatingly. "Upon sight of her lover's body, Raven will no doubtedly give in to her anger, and considering where we are-"

"She'd direct it at you, and anything in her way, including this city," Madness said disgustedly, as it turned to face Legion with a piercing gaze. "You have no idea of the kind of person she is, do you?"

"Mistress?" Legion asked fearfully.

"Didn't think so," Madness replied. "Let me explain: Kill Blackfire, and you give her more reason to fight you- and more importantly, fight me," it said. "Then, her friends, being such wonderful people, will do everything they can to fight you, and bring you down."

Legion seemed to straighten up. Even through his air of sycophancy, it was obvious his feathers were ruffled. "The Titans? They are but mere children, Mistress, I am sure I can-"

"Get your butt kicked again," Madness stated flatly, as Legion cringed with shame. "Trust me, Legion," it added, sarcasm dripping from every word, "I know how it goes." It turned back to Blackfire. "See what I have to work with?"

"Yeah, I can definitely see your problem- and Legion's not too good at his job, either."

Madness fixed Blackfire with a flat stare that lasted just a few seconds too long to be considered comfortable, then turned back to Legion. "I can feel Raven regaining control over herself," it whispered harshly. "Don't worry, I won't be gone long, but before I go, I want you to remember these instructions."

"Of- of course, Mistress," Legion said contritely as he fell to his knees again. "My life for you."

"If my plan works out, that won't be necessary," Madness said. Something in its tone added the words "for now," at the end, and made sure both Legion and Blackfire heard it. It then placed two ghostly hands on each side of Legion's head.

After a moment, she drew them back. "Do you understand now?" it asked.

"Yes… yes, Mistress," Legion whispered. A look of savage victory darkened his face. "Yes, I do understand."

"Good," Madness said, the smile on its face just as cruel. It then turned to Blackfire. "Be seeing you," it said, winking.

Then, it disappeared from sight, its ghostly form dissipating to reveal Legion advancing toward Blackfire. "Don't worry, your Highness," he said, "my Mistress has ordered me not to harm you in any way for now," he said in a sadistic whisper, picking up her communicator. "In fact," he continued, as he plunged a knife through the delicate machinery, "I hope you enjoy your stay here."

He looked at her and grinned, his suddenly reptilian eyes and fanged mouth all too close for comfort. "In fact, it would be nice to have some company while I work."

(scene change)

"Thanks guys," Beast Boy said quietly, as he sat despondently on a chair in the main room, "but you really didn't have to." A cup of hot chocolate lay cooling on the table next to him. It wasn't much, but Starfire could not think of any other way to cheer her friend up.

As he placed a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder, Robin felt it was a miracle that Starfire had managed to do something as pedestrian as make a hot drink, considering what she had just been through. At the moment, she was in the kitchen making something for herself, while Robin and Cyborg talked to beast Boy.

As for Raven the last anyone saw of her was when Starfire took her back to her room, just a few minutes before Robin and Cyborg came back.

"Hey, what else were we supposed to do?" Cyborg asked in return, as he stood, arms folded. "Raven was angry, she was blaming you, you telling me it was wrong me and Robin going out and trying to find you before she did?"

"Starfire didn't."

"That was because I thought that Raven needed a friend," Starfire replied, coming back with a steaming cup of… something that smelled good, meaning it was probably unsafe for human consumption.

"Yeah, a friend," Beast Boy said despondently, picking up his cup and gazing into it blankly.

Starfire gasped. "That is not what I had meant, Beast Boy," she said, distressed.

Beast Boy nodded in reply as he buried his face in his hands, his entire body hunched over in tired defeat. "Yeah, Star, I know," he sighed, his voice shaky.

"Besides, all of us knew that someone had to keep Raven here," Cyborg said, voicing out an unpleasant truth. He smiled. "Guess we shoulda known you ain't the kind of guy who'd run away from trouble."

Despite himself, Beast Boy gave Cyborg a lopsided grin. "Thanks, man," he said, as he finally took a sip of his drink. "So, uh, what do we do now?"

"Robin said that he was- what is it, Robin?" Starfire asked, when Robin took hold of her arm.

"Well, since it's obvious Raven is in no shape to find Blackfire the same way she found us, I was planning to trace Blackfire using her communicator's signal," Robin explained, "but it cut off suddenly-"

"Dude!" Beast Boy exclaimed, fear and shock in his voice, "you don't mean-"

"Calm down, Beast Boy; just because the signal's cut off doesn't mean anything's happened to her," Robin said firmly, and only the most skilled of listeners would have been able to detect the lack of conviction in his voice.

"So what do we do, Robin?" Starfire asked. "I do not wish to lose my sister again."

"Hold on," Robin answered as he walked over to the main computer. Turning it on, he uploaded data from his T-Cycle into the main database, and a map appeared on the viewscreen. "This is where I managed to trace the communicator's signal to before it was cut off," he explained, indicating a small area off the coast of Japan outlined within a red square.

"Er, Rob?" Cyborg said, "I'm not too good at geography, but that little square covers a few hundred square miles- it'd take us too long to get there, never mind search for Blackfire."

"I know," Robin said, "but look here."

And with that, he pressed a few more buttons, and suddenly everything on the map turned green as Robin called up another filter. A green dot, brighter than the dull emerald colour that enveloped the map, stood out in its position next to the red square. "See that? That's an Atlantean research station."

Even with all that was happening, Beast Boy couldn't control his natural curiosity. "What're Atlanteans doing there?"

"They're with an international project to study underwater earthquakes," Robin explained. "The reason they're so near Japan is because it's right on top of several fault lines in the Earth's crust." He turned to his friends, the geography lesson over. "The thing is, it's also a refueling and resupply area for Atlantean fleets in that part of the Pacific."

"And there's a fleet there now?" Cyborg asked.

Robin nodded. "It's a small one, just came back from helping the Japanese and the Russians with pirate problems in the Tsushima Strait. I've asked Aqualad about it, and he's agreed to talk to his father about extending that fleet's mission."

He turned back to the screen, the greenish-red square seeming to become more and more ominous the longer he looked at it. "I just hope I'm doing the right thing."

"What do you mean, Robin?" Starfire asked.

Robin sighed. "I just hope I'm not sending more people into danger."

_Author's note: Sorry this took so long. December was a whole lot more hectic than I had planned. That, and Star Control 2._


	13. Awakening Dead Gods

**Chapter Thirteen: Awakening Dead Gods  
**

_Raven dreamed…_

_A nightmare city lay beneath the waves. Taken on their own, no single aspect of the obsidian buildings could be said to be out of the ordinary, yet in their whole, their twisted angles, the dark red glow emanating from their pitch-black walls, the faint chanting that formed a permanent sonic backdrop, all of it seemed to- seemed to offend one's senses, giving anyone who saw it the same sick gut feeling they get when they see their murderer…_

"Excuse me, Doctor," a nurse said, walking into the chief medical officer's office, "but I think there's something wrong with Patient 42."

"Something wrong?"

"Well, I was doing a routine checkup on her, and it seemed that her heartbeat was a little fast."

The doctor sighed. Surface dwellers- they read a textbook or two, and suddenly they're all lining up for their 'Nobel Prizes'.

That being said, it was time she checked up in Raven anyway- might as well use this as an opportunity to escape some boring paperwork.

Raven dreamed…

_Beneath the terrible city lay a huge temple, nothing more than a massive underground dome, and within it was an army of abominations…_

_Beasts that looked like the bastard spawn of sharks and men, inscribed collars around their scaly necks._

_Purple tentacle-headed beasts in repulsive violet and yellow robes._

_All of them were shouting and cheering in their strangled language, their adulation directed towards the two monstrosities standing in the middle of the chamber: one, a reptilian beast clad in black and gold armour, its two jagged blades raised as a loud snarling coming from the canine mouth attached to its horned, snakelike head, it's two pairs of red eyes closed in exultation, while next to it stood an abomination that stretched all the way to the ceiling, hundreds of feet high, hundreds of feet of naked green corpulence, of a tentacled head anointed with ruby-red eyes, their unholy gleam still very much visible in the shadow of its draconian wings…_

"Hmm, this is odd- this is far too much brain activity for REM sleep," the doctor mused as she perused the readouts. "Almost like she's trying to remember something." She turned from the console to the nurse behind her. "Nurse, get me some-"

Raven dreamed…

_Atlantis was burning._

_This once proud city, the true cradle of human civilization, was in ruins, save for a tower in the centre of the city, the last remaining structure of the home of Atlantis's King._

_It was upon its battlements he stood and fought the reptilian demon, his mechanized spear bathed in a hellish glow by the light of the flames of his dead city. Even here, he found his eyes watering from the ash that wafted to this height._

_His opponent however, relished it, its four serpentine eyes burning with the thrill of combat, its forked tongue hanging out of its mouth as it struck again and again in a murderous frenzy, and although the King found it easy to block each blow, the sheer frenzied madness of it had already worn him down, and he knew his end would soon come. But as his eyes moved upwards, to the topmost spire of the tower, he knew, as the demon prepared to deal the final blow that his inevitable death would not have been in vain._

_And the demon realized it too, as it caught the look in the dying King's face. Howling with despair and anger, it turned back to the spire, and saw the Queen standing upon its zenith, a glow emanating from a device in her hand, and it knew that for all that the battle was won, all its efforts were for nothing…_

Raven dreamed…

_Flashes of- of 'memory':_

_A flash from the spire's pinnacle…_

_The army, wailing in fear and despair, fleeing back to their nightmare city, only to join their green-skinned 'god' in deathlike sleep…_

_Atlantis sinking beneath the waves, its few surviving inhabitants changed by the light forever…_

_And of the broken remnants of its empire, falling apart, and then picking up the pieces again, first in Egypt, then Mesopotamia, and then the rest of the world, their ancient legacy remembered only as legends…_

_Legends that never remembered the beast from beneath the waves, for it was rarely seen, and when it was, the sight drove all who beheld it mad, unable to tell others of the horror they had seen. All that humanity would allow itself to remember was the scaly demon that led its armies…_

_Apophis, Destroyer of the Sun, enemy of Ra…_

_Nidhogg the Dread Biter, who gnaws constantly the roots of Yggdrassil, the Tree of Life…_

_The many headed Hydra, which cannot be killed, for as a head is cut off, two more grow in its place…_

_The beast called Dragon… _

"No sign of improvement, Doctor," the nurse said.

"I can see that," the doctor replied irritably. The last thing she needed was a surface dweller telling her the painfully obvious.

"Shouldn't we inform her friends?"

The doctor considered it. "No, not yet. What would we tell them? That, that- what was the patient's name again?"

"Raven, Doctor."

"-that Raven was having strange dreams? Please."

"But Doctor, I heard stories about Raven-"

"Stories, nurse, which have no place here."

"If you-" the nurse began, when she stopped. "Doctor? You hear something?"

They stood silent, and they realized the soft whispering they were hearing was coming from Raven.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie,  
And with strange æons, even death may die."

Raven dreamed…

_A submarine, moving above an underwater canyon, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Aqualad standing upon the command deck…_

_Small silver globes gliding along the underwater walls, bright red lights blinking around their diameter- robotic probes, scouting out the area, unknowingly heading towards a sunken city, a city of wrong angles, of jagged obsidian…_

_Of where a low chanting could be heard, in a forgotten, strangled tongue, as old as fear…_

_Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn…_

_Ia, Ia, Cthulhu f'taghn…_

"I have to warn them!" Raven shouted as she awakened. Around her, lights flickered on and off, and machines began to malfunction. The medical staff in the vicinity all collapsed to the ground, some clutching their chests as they struggled to breathe, and some frothing uncontrollably at the mouth.

But Raven neither saw nor heard any of this. "I have to warn them," she whispered, slipping into the shadows.

(scene change)

Three days.

Three days spent waiting in silence.

In better circumstances, the Titans would have used those three days they spent at the Japanese-Atlantean joint research station to observe the research being done, work with Atlantean technicians on improvement and maintenance, assist the joint research teams on exploring the sea bed, perhaps even making new friends and enjoying the peace and quiet.

Instead…

"How is she?" Robin asked Starfire as she came up to him in the research station's observation post, his gaze fixed on the ocean depths.

"Raven is," Starfire hesitated, "Raven is not too well, Robin. I wish it could be otherwise, but…"

"Don't be, we've done all we can for her," Robin said, the assurance in his voice not felt within him. Turning to Starfire, he asked, "Any word from the others?"

Starfire shook her head. "There has been no word from our friends since they left on the Atlantean submarine," she said. "I will admit that this too, worries me."

"Well, you heard what Aquaman said- the fleet he sent out would have to keep comm. silence unless it was an emergency." He placed his hand on Starfire's shoulder. "To tell the truth Starfire, I think we'll have to go with his judgment on this one."

"It would not work, Robin!" Starfire said with such vehemence Robin was taken aback. "Have you not seen that Legion is most familiar with magic, not technology? This 'comm. silence' will not hide the Atlanteans from his sight, but it will hide our friends from theirs!"

"Starfire," Robin said firmly, trying to make himself heard to the semi-hysterical Tameranian. "Starfire, listen to me," he said again. When she had calmed down a bit, he spoke again. "We don't really know what kind of powers Legion depends on. Remember, he had to steal those artifacts from the Jump City Museum to cast his teleportation spell. We also cannot take any chance that he might detect us, no matter whether he's using magic or not. Besides," he said with a wan smile, "it is Aquaman's fleet, not ours."

Drawing Starfire closer, he whispered, "They'll be all right, Starfire. Even if they didn't have Aqualad and a small Atlantean fleet behind them, Beast Boy and Cyborg can take care of themselves."

Just then, a massive Atlantean war submarine passed in front of the window on its routine patrol, the markings on it indicating its position in the Atlantean Royal Guard.

"It would make me feel better if one of those submarines went with them," Starfire said.

"They are called the Royal Guard for a reason, Starfire," Robin said gently. "Have you checked up on Raven?"

Starfire hung her head sadly as she replied, "She is still asleep, Robin, I am sorry. I asked the doctors what was wrong…"

"What is wrong?" Starfire asked. "Why would Raven not wake up?"

"I wish I could tell you that, your Highness," the Atlantean doctor had replied, shrugging, "but as far as our instruments and experience can tell, she's asleep. About the only thing out of the normal we can detect is that your friend is experiencing a heightened degree of what the surface dwellers call REM sleep."

Starfire gasped. "Then why are you out here talking to me? You must go back in there and save-"

"Calm down, your Highness," the doctor had replied, bemused. "I was merely trying to say that your friend is dreaming, and in a manner consistent with deep sleep."

"But if all she is doing is sleeping, then why would she not wake up?"

"That, I cannot answer," the doctor said. "All I can say is that otherwise, all her other vital signs are normal."

"And that was all she told me," Starfire finished.

Robin fell silent, deep in thought. Normally, Starfire would have known better than to interrupt him while he was like this, but there was something about him that tempted her to do otherwise. Perhaps it was the worry he was trying to hide, or the fear…

"Robin?" Starfire reluctantly asked, afraid of what the answer might be. "Is there something you wish to say?"

"…Starfire, have you ever wondered why we're still here?"

"Huh?" Starfire asked, dumbfounded.

"Remember that night, when Raven almost-"

Perhaps unconsciously, he drew Starfire closer as he remembered what she had told him of that night. "When you and Beast Boy… Raven…" he trailed off.

"I remember," Starfire replied softly, before she saw something that surprised her more than any Earthly peculiarity ever could:

A tear running down Robin's cheek.

"I thought," he began. "I mean, I thought…"

He felt someone squeeze his hand, and when he turned to look at Starfire, the gentle look she gave him told him everything he needed to know. So he gave up trying to say what he felt like saying, knowing that with Starfire, he needn't have tried anyway.

But whatever embarrassment he felt would have been preferable to the dread he felt in the pit of his stomach as he continued, "I thought that things could have been much worse."

"Why, Robin?"

"Starfire, you know what usually happens when Raven loses control of her emotions, right?"

Starfire nodded.

"And yet that night, nothing happened- nothing much, anyway."

"How could you say nothing happened, Robin?" Starfire asked, shocked. "Is that not our friend Raven lying in the hospital wing?"

"That's what I'm trying to say, Star," Robin pressed. "Why do you think I and Cyborg went out to look for him? You've seen how powerful she has become, think about what you'd expect to happen if she lost control! The Tower should have been nothing but rubble by the time she was through- but instead, all that happened was that she went to her bedroom and fell asleep. She hasn't woke up yet, true, but still- that's it?"

"What are you saying, Robin?"

"Starfire, remember when we asked Professor Giles for help?"

"He said that Raven was undergoing a, a 'transformation', correct? He said her demon side was maturing," Starfire replied uncertainly, not knowing where this conversation was leading to.

"But what if he was wrong, Star? Think about it- all Professor Giles's knowledge comes from his books and studies about demons, right? But Raven's a half-demon, the only one we know about!"

He turned away to look into the ocean depths again, as if their endlessness comforted him. "She's the only one he knows about," he said, less forcefully this time.

"You are thinking that perhaps Raven's human side is having an effect on her demonic one?" Starfire asked.

"Not exactly, but close," Robin replied. That was another thing Starfire liked about him- unlike most people, he never mistook her naïveté for stupidity. Turning back to her, he continued, "What if Raven's demonic side isn't just maturing, Starfire? What if- what if it's taking over her?"

Starfire drew back, aghast. "Raven would never allow such a thing to happen to her!" Starfire said with iron-clad certainty.

"I don't think she has a choice, Starfire," Robin said.

"Even so, she will still be our friend, no matter who or what she is, yes?" Starfire asked.

"I… I really don't know about that, Starfire."

"You see?" Starfire said desperately. "You do not know! You do not know anything of demons taking over people!"

"But I do, Star," Robin said quietly. "I've seen it happen before."

"You have?" Starfire asked, taken aback.

"Well, not like this," Robin admitted. "But…"

Robin sighed. "When I was still working with Batman-"

(That was another thing Starfire had noticed about him- unlike the other Robins, he always referred to his working with Batman- never working for, or even helping Batman.)

"-I saw many people get taken over by their own demons. Forget the ones like Trigon or Legion, the ones in people are bad enough. Look at the Joker; sometimes I think he had something like that inside him all along, and all it needed was an excuse to come out. And when it did, it completely took over him. It was like the man he was before… died."

Again, his gaze swept over the abyss. "There were other people like that too- people like the Clock King, Clayface, Poison Ivy- all taken over by something inside them. People like Mr. Freeze and Catwoman, they managed to fight it, but…" he trailed off.

Suddenly, he felt Starfire grip his hand firmly, but softly. "And yet there are some who do manage to fight it."

"Like?"

"My sister, perhaps? And Mr. Fixit? Terra?" Starfire said matter-of-factly, before continuing in a more tender tone, as she drew closer, "You?"

"Me?" Robin asked, surprised. "What did I do?"

"I have heard, and read, of many humans who lost their parents when they were young, and then grew up to become evil criminals," she said softly, "but you did not. Why?"

Robin felt tears well up within his eyes; he rarely spoke of his parents, the memory of their deaths still as painful now as it was so many years ago. "Batman took me in," he replied curtly. "Why are you asking me-"

"So what if Batman took you as his own son? Could you not have learned his methods, then went on to become an evil man yourself? It would have been easy, would it not, to have misused Batman's methods to aid yourself instead of others? Why did you not do so?"

"Because I didn't want to!" Robin exploded, pulling himself away from Starfire. "Because if I did, it would have made my parents' deaths meaningless! Because I didn't want other people to suffer the same way I had to! There! You happy?" he said angrily, hot tears streaming down his cheeks, and uncaring of how he looked to Starfire, nor her undoubtedly angry response.

A response that never came. Instead, Starfire smiled at him, as she once again, took his hands in her own. "That is right, Robin- you chose not to. You could have become a truly evil being, driven to darkness by your parents' deaths and Batman's knowledge, but you chose not to."

"So what? You're saying that just because I wanted to be a good guy, Raven will miraculously jump out of bed happy and shiny?" Robin asked sarcastically, the bitterness and anger within him not completely gone yet.

"Yes," Starfire said simply. "Do you not see who you are? Who you have become? Trigon cannot be said to be Raven's true father, and her mother had left this world long ago. Whether you or Raven know it, you have become both mother and father to her. She trusts you, Robin, and learns from you, just as any child would from their true mother or father."

She drew him closer as she whispered, "I will admit that I do not know much about your world, or even mine, but I do know that it is your choices who make you who you are. And I know our friend Raven will make the right choice- because you have."

Robin fell silent for a few seconds, his eyes closed tightly as Starfire's arms came around him. "Thank you, Star," he finally replied, his voice husky, quiet, as he placed his own arms around the Tameranian. "Say, can I ask you a question?"

"Yes?"

"Was it true? I mean, what you said about me and Raven?"

Starfire's only response was a contented nod.

"And what about the rest of you guys?" Robin asked softly, the load on his heart lightening by the moment. "Am I your dad too?" he joked.

"I do not know about Cyborg or Beast Boy, but I…" Starfire trailed off, as she drew closer to Robin, and Robin to her. Their lips brushed against each others'-

"We have to help them!" a ragged voice shouted from the shadows behind them.

Starfire and Robin jerked apart, reflexively moving into battle stances, but as their memories recognized the voice-

"Raven?" they said in unison.

She looked normal, until you saw her eyes. Not weren't the four red slits the Titans had seen, and had learned to steel themselves against- these were the simple, stark eyes of a madwoman.

"We must get them out… of… there…" Raven said, before she collapsed, Robin and Starfire already running to catch her.

(scene change)

It was times like this that he treasured most.

Such were the musings of the captain of the small Atlantean submarine detachment that was escorting Cyborg, Beast Boy and Aqualad. The serenity of traveling in peaceful seas, with only the gentle hum of his small submarine's machinery and the soft murmur of the crew as they went about their daily routines, while he watched from above, a raised platform serving as his bridge.

For this peace, he had given up far more prestigious postings aboard far more magnificent warships, had given up the hustle and bustle of Atlantis and its other undersea colonies…

And as far as he was concerned, it was worth it. Even this interruption to form a search party for a friend of his King's adopted son wasn't enough to put him off his good mood.

"Sir? Sir?"

"Hmmm?" the captain asked, the first officer's questions interrupting his musings.

"Course change orders from Aqualad, sir," his first officer said, handing the captain a small sheet of semi-transparent film. "We're to proceed to these coordinates, and search this sector."

The captain looked at the writing on the film, and nodded nonchalantly. "Very well- give navigation the new coordinates."

"Yes sir."

_What's to find over there?_ the captain wondered, as his first officer relayed the new orders to the helmsman. Radar probes had mapped out that patch of ocean long before the research station had been set up; the captain just didn't see any point in treading old ground.

He didn't mind it himself- if he had a choice, he would have liked to live his entire life out in his submarine, in the peaceful depths of the ocean; however, he was more than aware of he fact that his crew did not share his beliefs. The fact that they saw this mission as a favour for some surface dwellers didn't really sit well with them either.

It also didn't help that their circular search path meant that they were now less than half an hour away from the research station. The temptation to just break off and go home was stifling.

"It is our duty," the captain reminded the first officer, upon hearing his aide's grumblings. He didn't get along very well with the first officer, seeing as the younger man was a great deal more ambitious.

Ah well. At least it enabled the captain to appreciate the peace and quiet more.

"Our duties are as soldiers of the Atlantean Navy, not as some glorified child minders for a lost surface dweller that couldn't take care of itself," the first officer responded. "Even if they needed help searching the ocean, why would they need to waste Atlantis's time and resources to do it?" He sniffed disparagingly. "I thought our King was immune from the madness of surface dwellers."

"Perhaps he is," the captain reminded him. "Perhaps there is something about this particular surface dweller that makes it important to him."

"With respect, sir, I think this is all a waste of time_." As well as being an example of nepotism at its worst_, he thought, but didn't say. Tolerant though his captain was, he was utterly devoted to the Royal family, and would never-

"Captain!" a voice called out from the navigation console. "We have reached the coordinates. Reports from the docking bay indicate the T-Sub, Aqualad and Beast Boy have departed on their search. Launching remote observer probes as well."

The captain nodded. "Very good, hopefully we'll see some results this time."

"With all due respect sir," the helmsman replied ruefully, "I'd rather see my wife."

"You and half the crewmen of the fleet!" someone shouted from the communications console, to general mirth; the beauty of the helmsman's wife had become a local legend in the small fleet.

"All right, all right, that's enough, all of you," the captain said with almost fatherly indulgence. "Just let these_ other_ children see that there's nothing to find here," he said pointedly, "and we can all go home."

(scene change)

Cyborg ran his hands across his face; more than three days of almost no sleep at all were beginning to take a toll even on him. Stifling a yawn, he checked his battery power indicators, and wasn't surprised to see that he was running on the barest minimum available to him.

"Man, what'd I give for a cup of coffee," he whispered to himself. Aiming to get a few minutes of rest, Cyborg put the T-Sub on autopilot, and leaned back, letting his eyes wander across the sights of the ocean, watching as the lights of the T-Sub illuminated wonders one would not find on land; even at this relatively shallow depth, he managed to see multi-coloured jellyfish flashing their lights to attract mates, thin, needle-like fish darting in and out of sight, a few hundred feet of underwater rock rising in a wall in front of-

"Whoa!" he yelled, pulling the T-Sub upwards in the nick of time.

As soon as he managed to breathe again, Cyborg took a look at the T-Sub's various indicators, especially those regarding system integrity. As far as he could tell, the sub was in perfect shape- so why didn't its sensors 'see' that rock wall?

A beeping emerged from the T-Sub's console, interrupting Cyborg's musings. Consulting his radar, Cyborg saw that it was coming from Aqualad. Turning the T-Sub in the direction of the sonar burst, Cyborg in turn sent similar bursts to the Atlantean fleet and Beast Boy. They had agreed on sonar signals, so as to make anyone who might have been listening in believe this was yet another test done by the research station.

But as to how the station managed to miss what came into Cyborg's sight…

"Oh man," Cyborg breathed outwards in a mixture of astonishment and dull terror. "Oh man, oh man, oh man…"

What lay before him were… not ruins, but the perfectly preserved remains of what was obviously a sunken city, sitting in a massive crater- although a city of _what_, Cyborg did not want to know, considering the non-Euclidean geometry the city seemed to possess. Almost without realizing it, Cyborg sent a sonar wave towards the city, and watched in disbelief as the signal passed right through the buildings as if they weren't there.

He looked back out the window, and saw that Aqualad held the ghoulish structures with the same terrified wonder as he did. Cyborg wondered if his own face was as pale as the Atlantean's.

Cyborg turned to Beast Boy, who, having taken the form of a swordfish, had joined them, but he was already gone, speeding off towards the general direction of the Atlantean fleet. Various console displays told Cyborg that Beast Boy's adrenaline levels had skyrocketed to levels consistent with blind terror. He turned back to Aqualad, who nodded with unspoken agreement, and the two of them turned around and followed Beast Boy.

With a great deal of inexplicable relief.

(scene change)

"You okay now, Beast Boy?" Aqualad asked as Beast Boy joined him and Cyborg on the command deck as they stood with the captain and the first officer.

"Yeah, I think so," Beast Boy replied, but the exhaustion in his voice didn't fool anyone.

"What happened out there?" Cyborg asked.

"I don't know," Beast Boy said, rubbing his head. "I was all right until I saw- until I saw that _place_," he replied. "Then, well, I guess my animal instincts kinda took over, I guess. What can I say?" he said ruefully, "that place just seemed _wrong_."

"It just seemed wrong?" the first officer said, eyebrow raised. In return, he managed to elicit a black look from Aqualad.

"Now, now, that's enough," the captain said placatingly. "I'm sure that there is a reasonable explanation for all this. Perhaps your green friend saw a rock formation, which, in the darkness of the ocean, appeared a bit more frightening than usual, especially when combined with his exhaustion."

"Hey-" Beast Boy began, but Aqualad beat him to a scathing reply.

"If that's the case, then he must have a really strong imagination, because whatever he saw, both I and Cyborg saw it too."

"And what exactly did you see?" the first officer asked, before the captain and Cyborg stepped in.

"Hey man, cool it," Cyborg said to Aqualad, as he placed a calming hand on the Atlantean's shoulder.

"Sound advice," the captain agreed, stepping in front of his first officer. "There is no harm in investigating this," he said in tones of finality. "At worst, we will be less than an hour late back at the station. At best, we'll have succeeded in our mission." He turned to look downwards. "Helmsman, launch remote probes as soon as possible."

A voice came from the navigation console. "Launching probes… now. Putting displays on the main screen now, sir. Nothing detected so far, sir."

"Turn off all scanning devices," Cyborg said. "No radar, no sonar, no nothing. Just give us a visual feed."

"That's highly irregular-" the first officer began, when the captain waved his objections off.

"Do as he says, helmsman," he said, ignoring his second-in-command's increasing irritation.

"Oh, now what do we have… here…" the captain trailed off, as his eyes, as well as those of the bridge crew, took in what lay before them.

"By Atlantis, what is that?" the first officer asked, not knowing whether to stay here and appreciate the magnificence of what he was seeing…

…or whether to take over the navigation console, turn the submarine around, and 'run like hell'- a surface-dweller term he had taken quite a liking to.

"Told you I didn't imagine it," Beast Boy said, turning away. Having been proven correct, he felt anything but smug.

As the fast moving probes moved closer and closer to the sunken structures, several members of the crew started to suffer that curious nausea associated with fear. One crewman even leaned over and started retching.

Nobody noticed. All their eyes were focused on-

"What's that?" someone shouted. "It looks like… it looks…"

"A Deep One," the captain breathed in sharply.

"A Deep what?" Cyborg asked.

"It's like the Atlantean version of the boogeyman," Aqualad replied, his voice flat and his words banal with terror. His voice steadily moved towards a whisper as he replied, "When I was a child, Mother would make me clean my room by telling me the Deep Ones would eat me if I didn't."

"We have to get out of here, captain! We have to get out!" the first officer shrieked hysterically.

"Damn you, get a hold of yourself!" the captain replied, seizing his subordinate. His own uncharacteristic behaviour, however, showed just how close he himself was to losing his own sanity.

"But those are Deep Ones!" the first officer babbled, "And that's their city! That's their city and we were so close to them all this time! All this time! We have to go back, captain! Go back and warn Atlantis! Please, captain, we cannot stay here! That's their city!"

"Uh," Beast Boy began, "what's so bad about - wait, you guys hear that?"

It was a sound that moved through the water, and seemed to continue into one's spine. Had Raven been there, and in full possession of her mind, she would have been able to tell them that this was because the language they heard wasn't just spoken with the mouth, but with the mind.

Ia, Ia…

Ia, Ia, Cthulhu f'taghn…

Ia, Ia, Cthulhu f'taghn-

_Ia, Ia, Cthulhu f'taghn- _

**_Ia, Ia, Cthulhu f'taghn-_**

_**IA, IA, CTHULHU F'TAGHN!**_

(scene change)

Darkness.

"Hey Blackfire, wake up."

Darkness.

"Blackfire? Heh, have it your way."

Darkness.

"Just wanted to tell you:"

Darkness.

"It's almost time."


	14. Rise And Fall

My apologies for taking so long- let us just say lightning and computers don't mix.

**Chapter 14: Rise And Fall**

It's all so peaceful, Aqualad thought, as his consciousness floated in blissful, painless darkness.

Recent memories flashed across his mind- the Deep Ones attacking the leading submarine, their seemingly primitive clubs bashing through the submarine's armour with distressing ease, the desperate melees that ensued aboard all the other submarines as more Deep Ones, far more at home in the water than even the Atlanteans, quickly joined the battle.

Then, the explosion above him…

And now… he didn't know where he was, neither did he care. All he knew was that he wanted to stay like this forever, and the odds were, that was exactly what was going to happen.

Suddenly, pain.

"Aqualad? Aqualad! Wake up, man!" he heard someone say. "Oh no… Aqualad!"

"Starfire?" he asked groggily. He opened his eyes, but the darkness remained. _Ah,_ he thought, with a calmness that surprised even him, _I'm blind, or dying._

He tried to get up, but something above him pressed him downwards.

_Well, at least I'm not blind. _

And judging by the growing pain he felt all over his body, it didn't look so bad.

"Please start with the 'holding on', Aqualad!" he heard Starfire say, before he felt something lifted off him with a creaking sound, and as he heard it clang next to him, he felt relieved of some of the oppressiveness on his body, and his eyes were flooded with a blinding light.

"Hey Starfire," he said, as he felt her pick him up. As she turned him over, he could not help but notice the effect the bright light and blurred eyesight had on what he saw: Starfire, looking as beautiful as ever, framed by a golden-white halo…

Then, as if on cue, the pain returned.

"Please, stay still, Aqualad," Starfire said, seeing the young Atlantean's eyes crease up in pain. She sat Aqualad down at the side of the corridor and reached for her communicator. "Robin! I have found Aqualad!"

But Robin did not answer. "Starfire? You have found my son?" she heard Aquaman say.

"Yes, your Majesty-"

"Is he all right?" he asked curtly.

"I'm fine, father," Aqualad said, trying his best to sound so. "Where's Robin, if I might ask?"

"He's busy repairing Cyborg," Aquaman said in the same brusque manner, although this time, there was a small touch of relief in his voice. "Wait there, I'll dispatch a medical team."

"Yes, father," Aqualad said, as Aquaman turned the comlink off. He gave Starfire a rueful look. "I'm sorry, Starfire. My father, well, he doesn't like surfacers much."

"I do not mind," Starfire said.

Aqualad leaned back. "No, you don't, do you?" he agreed. "Raven with you guys?"

Starfire shook her head. "I am afraid she is in the sickbay of the research station, Aqualad."

"That's a pity," Aqualad replied. "Some of that healing magic'd be nice right about now." He winced as pain spiked itself up his ribs. "Cyborg may not need it, but I sure do, and Beast Boy- Starfire?" he asked, his eyes widening.

"Yes, Aqualad?"

"Is Beast Boy With you?"

(scene change)

"All the survivors have been evacuated, your Majesty," the captain of the Atlantean flagship said, walking up to his King, who was standing at the head of the bridge, looking out at the wreckage ahead.

"Casualties?" Aquaman asked.

"Many injuries, a few fatalities- we do not have an exact count yet, your Majesty," the captain said, looking at his report. "All the group's crewmen have been accounted for, for what little consolation that may bring."

"Except for one of the surface dwellers who accompanied my son, correct?"

The captain winced. "Unfortunately, yes, your Majesty," he replied. "However, our investigations," by this he meant 'from what Robin was able to find out', but he'll be damned if he admitted he needed a surface dweller, "have revealed that the shapeshifter had managed to escape the ship before it retreated."

He walked closer to his King, his voice lowering as he continued, "Your Majesty, while I mean no disrespect by this, either towards you or your son, or the value of your son's friends-"

"Get to the point, Captain."

"Of course, Your Majesty," the captain replied. "We do not know why yet, your Majesty, but there is a strong possibility that he might have abandoned the ship to enter R'l'yeh."

Aquaman turned to his captain, incredulous. He knew surface dwellers, as a whole, were mostly mad or stupid (or both), but this- "Are you sure of this, Captain?"

"Yes, your Majesty. Very sure, which is why- which is why I believe you should prepare your son and his friends to mourn their teammate's passing."

"You are saying we should proceed as originally planned?"

"Yes, your Majesty?"

Aquaman looked back out the massive window in front of him. He knew about R'l'yeh; what it was, its history, and what it would mean for Atlantis if it were to rise again…

"No, captain."

"Your majesty?" his captain asked, incredulous (and not a little terrified).

"I am not saying that our original plan does not have merit, captain," Aquaman said semi-reassuringly, "and I intend to carry it out. However, we will mount a search-and-rescue mission for my son's friend to the best of our ability, surface dweller or not."

"But, your Majesty, R'l'yeh- we cannot-"

"I know, Captain," Aquaman sighed, as if regretting his decision already. "I know."

The captain took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, with all due respect, I don't think I can tell the crew that we would have to delay R'l'yeh's destruction even to allow for a rescue mission, much less one involving a surface dweller! Even if he is one of your son's friends!"

Aquaman smiled, but it was the smile of one who knows he is heading towards damnation. "Is that a threat of mutiny, Captain?"

The captain sighed. "No, your Majesty. We are your Royal Guard. We were faithful to you during your brother's rebellion, we are faithful to you now. But with all due respect, your Majesty," he said, with more focus in his voice now, "I hope you are making the right decision."

Aquaman fell silent for a moment, before replying, "To tell the truth captain, I hope so too."

(scene change)

It had been a long and tiring chase, but at least nobody was following Beast Boy anymore. It was this comforting thought that accompanied Beast Boy as he emerged from the small pool within the ruins.

As he sat back, trying to catch his breath, he tried to ignore the water dripping through the fallen masonry above his head. More to the point, he tried to ignore the masonry itself. Up close, it seemed even more- even more… _wrong_, than it had been at a distance, what with all the intricate, yet faintly nauseating carvings, the faded yet still visible paintings- even the writing seemed to flow within the eye as a poison would.

Of course, the fact that said masonry was the only thing between him and the unimaginable weight of the ocean didn't help his composure either-

He managed to morph into a rat and scamper behind a pile of broken stones in the nick of time. Led by a slender purple, tentacle-headed creature in thin robes, a group of Deep Ones marched past in perfect unison- too perfect. And what was that smell? It smelled… familiar, somehow. Foul, nauseating even, but familiar-

Then he saw the condition the Deep Ones' bodies were in, the narrow slit in the tentacle-headed creature's robes, the encrusted liquid around the slit…

_Oh man, don't let me be right…_

As the patrol passed, Beast Boy morphed into a hyena, and sniffed the air surreptitiously. Much to his horror, his hunch was correct.

Every single member of that patrol was dead.

_Oh man_, he thought, as he changed back, _that's sick. This whole place is sick._

Suddenly, a loud, angry hiss echoed through the ruined halls, and Beast Boy, once more in mouse form, ducked into a small crevice.

(scene change)

"Your Majesty," the flagship's communications officer said, "we have received a transmission from the research station. It appears that the surfacer we left behind… has gone missing, your Majesty."

"Raven's missing?" Aqualad asked, echoing the concerned sentiment of the other Titans.

"What happened?" Aquaman asked coldly.

Even though she was at her console twenty feet below the bridge, the communications officer felt herself unconsciously backing away from Aquaman's glare. "I'm just reporting what they transmitted, your Majesty," she said. "They said the station went dark for a few moments when the power suddenly went out, and when it came back on, the surfacer was gone-"

"Enough," Aquaman said. "Tell them to mount a search. Have all available personnel, Atlantean or otherwise, search for her." He looked to the viewscreen. For now, it wasn't showing anything, but everyone on the ship knew that situation would be changing very soon… "As if we did not have enough problems," he muttered. "Captain?" he said suddenly.

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"Tell my son and the Titans to ready themselves."

"Yes, your Majesty- your Majesty, where are you going?" the captain asked, as Aquaman walked off into the corridor behind them.

"Is it not obvious, captain?" Aquaman said, smiling grimly. "I am going to join them."

(scene change)

In the years to come, long after Raven and Blackfire left, long after the Titans separated, Beast Boy would still find himself unable to explain just how he found his way within R'l'yeh.

But he remembered being awed. He couldn't help it.

After emerging from what seemed at first to be an endless maze of tunnels, Beast Boy found himself looking upwards into a massive pit, hewn from red rock. Looking upwards, Beast Boy saw long, thin bridges stretching across the pit, each bridge forming the connection between small doorway-like caverns, one of which Beast Boy had just emerged from. The top of the pit itself was a domelike structure. Unlike the roughly-cut sides of the pit, the dome itself, even from the distance Beast Boy was looking at it, was definitely built with care, and even provided some sort of light to the pit.

Of the bottom of the pit itself, Beast Boy saw no sign, save an impenetrable darkness-

"Enjoying the view, Beast Boy?"

Beast Boy looked across the bridge. "You," he spat.

"Why?" Legion asked. "Who else were you expecting?" He took a few steps forward, emerging from the darkness of the cavern behind him. "Planning to play the gallant hero, I guess?"

"Where's Blackfire?" Beast Boy asked angrily.

For his part, Legion didn't seem to hear Beast Boy. "You know, I wouldn't mind being rescued from here myself," he said, seemingly lost in his own world. "I hate this city- well, to be rather more specific, I hate the afterbirth that runs it."

He spat down the pit. "You were never in it to serve my Master's cause, were you?" he asked, poison (and perhaps a little jealousy) in his voice. He turned to Beast Boy, smiling bitterly. "You know, I always thought he was in it for the destruction, plain and simple-"

"I don't care! Where's Blackfire?"

"-and my Master's help was just a bonus, nothing like the great gift it was," Legion sighed.

Beast Boy was hit by a sudden thought- a possible reason for Legion's nostalgic ramblings. He quickly turned behind, watching out for any clones-

"Don't worry, Beast Boy," Legion said. "You won't find any of my duplicates running about. The now-sleeping- and hopefully soon-to-be-deceased- owner of this scrap heap made sure I wouldn't be able to do so while I was in his city." Legion's bitter smile grew wider. "His way of making sure I was where he wanted me."

He spat down the pit. "Now, he's practically in a coma, and his minions are dead and under my control-"

"Your control- _you're_ doing that?" Beast Boy asked, incredulous disgust temporarily overrunning his desire to find Blackfire.

"Oh please, Beast Boy," Legion said, "don't be such a-"

His head jerked sharply upwards, and he whispered something Beast Boy didn't catch. "So… you're here to rescue Blackfire, then?" he asked slowly, looking back at Beast Boy. "You do realize I can't do that without at least some resistance?" he asked, raising his two blades and grinning widely.

"Yeah, I get it."

"Good."

(scene change)

_Maybe I'll stay here._

_Sure, it's a bit dark, but it's so peaceful._

_Besides, it isn't as if I have a choice._

_I mean, it isn't as if I'll miss anyone, or anyone will miss me._

_Wait._

_Raven._

_I don't want to go._

_I will not go._

_I will…_

_I…_

…

…

…

_Raven?_

Blackfire's eyes suddenly opened, only to be shut just as quickly as light quickly flooded them. Blinking rapidly, she looked around her cage, and the first thing that went through her mind as she looked around her cage was her pleasant surprise when she saw the glowing runes gone-

Oh no.

"Raven? Raven!" Blackfire shouted, seeing the figure lying on the cage's floor. "Raven!" she said again, as she took the Azerath's limp form into her arms.

"No, don't…" Raven whispered weakly as Blackfire picked her up.

"What are you talking-" Blackfire started, when Raven's hood fell, and the Tameranian saw something that almost made her drop Raven.

"It's this place," Raven explained weakly, as she barely lifted hr hood to cover her two pairs of red, snakelike eyes. "I can feel it- I can feel it trying to take over me-"

"Good enough for me," Blackfire said, standing up, Raven in her arms. "Let's go-"

"No," Raven whispered. "You have to help Beast Boy."

"Beast Boy? He's here?"

Raven nodded tiredly. "Help him," she repeated.

"Why? Raven, he's the one responsible for all this!"

"That isn't true, and you know it." Raven fell silent, and seemingly for the first time, Blackfire heard the sound of combat below her. "Please, Blackfire… help him. I'll be… I'll be fine."

"Raven, I can't leave you here," Blackfire said hoarsely.

"He needs you now, Blackfire… a whole lot more than I do."

"Liar," Blackfire replied, smiling, before placing Raven on the ground. With a heavy heart, she brushed her lips lightly against raven's, and flew downwards.

(scene change)

It was funny, how much Beast Boy could not remember about his time at R'l'yeh. First, he couldn't remember how he found his way to the Tomb Of Cthulhu, and neither could he remember what happened in those first few seconds of his fight with Legion.

But what he did remember, he remembered as if it were burned into his mind- the feeling of utter exhilaration as he rushed, screaming wildly; then, flashes of memory, of unleashing a hailstorm of claw and teeth upon Legion, as his fury and Legion's blades clashed in a deadly ballet.

And most sweetly of all, the look of sheer terrified astonishment on the demon's face.

From bear to velociraptor to panther, Beast Boy shifted from form to form with a speed that almost seemed liquid. He remembered the savage pleasure he felt when he saw Legion bleed; remembered the smell of Legion's fear. He would never feel so close to his animalistic nature again.

Legion, bleeding from myriad cuts and bruises over his body, staggered back. He had never expected anything like this happening to him- the very thought was ridiculous, Trigon's most favoured retreating from, from- from an animal, nothing more!

He wished he could shapeshift into his true form, then he'd be able to show this upstart a thing or two, but he needed all of his magical power and concentration to maintain his undead army.

He snarled, as he saw Beast Boy charging toward him, once more in the form of a velociraptor. No, a being of his stature shouldn't need to shapeshift against this human simpleton, he thought as he ran forward to meet Beast Boy's charge.

Beast Boy remembered leaping forward, claws extended forward. He remembered Legion coming towards him in mid-air, blades ready to strike.

He never remembered any pain. When he thought about it, it was probable that he never did.

He only remembered that, when he landed, he tried to get up for another charge- 'tried' being the operative word, as he tripped and fell. As Legion slowly walked towards Beast Boy, the green velociraptor tried once more to get up, but couldn't. Only then did Beast Boy look back, and saw the small but deep stab wound in his leg.

He shifted back into human form, hoping he'd have more luck with hands, but the damage was done. His blood was slowly pooling near him, and Legion was getting closer-

A blast of violet energy blew up the ground near Legion, and he was driven back. Beast Boy looked up- "Blackfire?"

"Yes, Blackfire," Legion said. To Beast Boy's surprise, he was smiling- not with the bloodthirsty smirk he saw Legion exhibit just a few moments before, but with the smile of the only one in the room to get a joke, a joke he told.

Either Blackfire didn't see it for what it was, or she didn't care. "Just so you remember," she said to Legion, "you started this."

And with that, she charged the demon.

Or would have, if Legion hadn't nonchalantly stepped backward over the bridge into the pit. Blackfire flew down, out of Beast Boy's vision as she looked for Legion.

Something behind her-

And suddenly, Beast Boy saw the two of them emerge from under the bridge, with Blackfire flying upwards as she desperately tried to pull Legion's hands away from her throat.

They continued to struggle as Blackfire flew upward at a blinding speed, the two of them twisting and turning in midair. Somehow Blackfire managed to flip Legion around to her front, and the two of them continued to trade kicks and punches in mid air, Legion using various leg and handholds in midair to keep himself with Blackfire, not an easy task considering he had to dodge her energy blasts as well as her blows.

And he succeeded. "It ends here, Blackfire," Legion whispered, as he caught Blackfire's neck in a tighter chokehold than what he started out with.

"Don't think so," Blackfire gasped out.

And with that, she stopped. "Wh- what are you doing?" Legion asked in that terrifying moment.

"Getting rid of some excess baggage."

And with that, Blackfire turned downwards. They didn't just drop; Blackfire actively accelerated, and before Legion could recover from his shock and do something, Blackfire turned on her back, and the two of them slammed, Legion first, into a stone bridge far below them in a cloud of red dust.

At first, nothing could be seen, when Blackfire was suddenly thrown out from the cloud to slam intone side of the bridge. Woozily getting up, she saw Legion emerge from the debris, bloody and battered, and screaming with rage.

Blackfire didn't even think twice. Just like Beast Boy had done, she ran to meet Legion, her own cry of bloody vengeance echoing through the pit's walls. Only Beast Boy, several bridges below them, noticed the glowing red runes appearing on the walls of the pit before flashing back into nonexistence…

Unlike the fight between Legion and Beast Boy, where there had been at least some element of art, the combat between Legion and Blackfire was nothing more than a barroom brawl. The two of them simply traded punches and kicks, the only goal being to overwhelm their opponent with sheer savagery-

"Gotcha now," Legion smirked as he dodged one of Blackfire's punches and seized her arm. "My turn."

And as he said so, he threw himself forward and downward bringing Blackfire crashing down with him into the bridge below them.

"Blackfire…" Beast Boy said, too weak to scream.

"Beast Boy!" Legion shouted triumphantly, leaning over the edge of the bridge. "You came here for Blackfire, didn't you? Well, here you go!"

And with that, he bent down and pushed the Tameranian over the edge of his bridge to crash in front of Beast Boy. "Blackfire… oh no…" Beast Boy began, when he saw Blackfire's eyes open slowly.

"Takes a whole lot more than that to kill me," she said weakly.

There was another loud crash, and she turned around, Beast Boy following her gaze.

Legion walked slowly toward them, idly handling his two blades, fangs bared. "You know, I really have better things to do, but I suppose I can spare some time. After all, it isn't as if anyone's coming for- _k'tha-hsss_!" he swore as he narrowly dodged a bolt of blue light by mere inches.

"_BOOOOOO-YAAAAAAH!_" Cyborg yelled fiercely as he launched another volley of ion blasts from his vantage point on a bridge high above Legion. "Ladies and gentlemen," he announced, as Robin swung downwards, accompanied by Starfire, "the cavalry has arrived!"

"About time," Blackfire whispered with vengeful glee.

Not that the demon was paying any attention. "Come then!" he shouted back triumphantly as Robin's bombs exploded around him, enveloping in a hellish halo of dust and fire. "I am Legion! I am Trigon's most favoured! I am-"

"You are a monster," Starfire said, coming up behind him, her quiet tone somehow louder than the chaos around Legion. "Nothing more."

"So what are you going to do about it?" he asked, his eyes narrowing as his gaze met Starfire's.

"This," she said, with a tone of sorrow in her voice.

Starfire's eyes blazed.

And Legion fell into the darkness of the pit, shrieking in agony as smoke trailed from his ruined, empty eye sockets.

And Starfire looked down into the abyss, watching Legion fall screaming into the endless oblivion...

And it felt good…

"Starfire!"

Startled out of her musings, Starfire turned to face Robin.

"Starfire! We have to get your sister and Beast Boy out of here-"

"Guys?" Cyborg said from a nearby doorway, his voice the only thing emerging from the cavern's darkness. "I think we have a little problem."

"Cyborg?" Robin asked, Beast Boy on his shoulder, as Starfire picked up her sister. "What are you doing here? I thought you were up there-"

"Oh, he was."

Suddenly gasping for air, Cyborg emerged from the darkness, coils of dark energy around him visibly squeezing him slowly.

"Oh no," Blackfire said, seeing who emerged with him. "Raven-"

"Yes, Blackfire, it's me," Raven said, her voice echoing with the harmonics of a hellish chorus, her four eyes glowing red with unholy glee as she hovered across the bridge towards the Titans. "As you can see, I'm feeling much better now."

"Raven, what has happened to you?" Starfire whispered as she backed away.

"Isn't it obvious?" Raven replied. "I stopped fighting myself."

She looked upwards. "This place… it has power, so much power!" she said, laughing as she continued, "And all it needed was someone to use it."

"Raven, please, this isn't who you are-" Blackfire began, when she and the other Titans found themselves seized by tendrils of dark energy.

"Oh shut up, Blackfire!" Raven said, smiling cruelly. "You see, Blackfire," she whispered, drawing the wounded Blackfire close, "unlike you, I'm not so stupid I'd give up power, and I'm not so weak I'd be afraid of using it."

"Raven, please," Blackfire said, trying to ignore her friends' agonized gasps as Raven slowly constricted them, "I know you're in there-"

Raven burst into peals of delighted laughter. "Blackfire, Blackfire, Blackfire- you really have no idea, do you? Let me show you something."

Her eyes glowed brighter, and behind her, a portal opened up, and Blackfire saw Madness's realm- but Madness was obviously not in control, not anymore.

Madness was still suspended in the void, in the middle of a metal ring, but this time it was bound to the ring with red-hot metal chains, writhing in pain. Suddenly, its eyes caught Blackfire's, and the Tameranian was horrified to see that the Aspect's mouth had been sewn shut, its pleading eyes the only sign that it was crying out to Blackfire for help-

"Madness wanted to use me," Raven said quietly. "It wanted to make me bring my father into this, this existence, so he could conquer it, like he had conquered others." Her eyes, already narrow slits, narrowed even further. "It actually thought it could control me, that I'd give up all this," she said, holding up her hands, glowing with demonic energy, "all this power."

"Raven, don't do this-" Robin began, before a tendril wrapped itself around his mouth, along with those of the other Titans.

"Or what? You don't want to be forced to stop me?" Raven asked. "Looks like I'll have to kill you then. Can't have you trying anything 'heroic'."

She suddenly seemed to only just notice the look of horror in Blackfire's face. "Oh yes, Blackfire, just so you know, it's me speaking," she whispered. "Not Madness, not my father- nobody. Nobody's controlling my mind, Blackfire. I want this. This is my choice."

"You sure about that?"

Raven turned in the direction of the speaker. "Beast Boy?" she exclaimed in what sounded like pleased surprise as she floated to him. "You're still alive? If I had known, I'd have shut you up too," she said, indicating the other Titans

"You sure you want this, Raven?" Beast Boy whispered, ignoring her remark.

"Why wouldn't I?" Raven asked easily, placing a foot in the pool of blood beneath Beast Boy, and idly playing with it.

"You sure it'll be worth it?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Raven replied. "Come on, Beast Boy, you have to do better than that."

"I don't have to," Beast Boy said, his voice becoming quieter as his breathing became shallower.

"What, you think I should give up all my power just to save a few lives? I don't think your brain's getting enough blood, Beast Boy. You really should be worried about that. Besides- I thought all you wanted was for me to be happy."

"And are you, Raven?"

Raven opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Thought so."

"So- so what?" Raven said angrily, and the runes on the pit walls flashed red once again, "As if you know anything about making choices! Look at what's happening to you! You're dying, and soon all your friends will join you!"

"At least I have friends."

As Raven stood there, momentarily speechless, Beast Boy summoned his last reserves of strength. "Yeah, you'll be all powerful, a real Queen Of All The Cosmos- and you'll be all alone. Sounds like fun."

"Shut up," Raven said quietly.

"Were you happy when you were with Blackfire, Raven? Dunno about you," Beast Boy said, not noticing the tears that started to run down Raven's cheek as his head bent back, and darkness crept into his vision, "but now that I think about it-"

"I said shut up!" Raven repeated.

"-I think you were," Beast Boy said with a short, bitter laugh. "Weren't you…?"

"…tell me Beast Boy," Raven began, "when Legion gave you his offer, why didn't you accept? I thought you- I thought you loved me."

Beast Boy smiled; he couldn't even move his head to face her- he was so weak. "Weren't you listening, Raven? I aid 'no' _because_ I… I…" he trailed off.

"Beast Boy? Beast Boy!" Raven shouted, the tendrils holding her friends disappearing as she ran to catch Beast Boy's falling body. "No- no, no, no," she repeated over and over again.

She looked upwards, eyes closed as she let out one last desperate, echoing cry of anguish, and her teammates quickly closed their eyes as the runes on the walls erupt into bright white light, therefore none of them noticed, as Raven's scream echoed through the cavern, those runes' outlines waver, before the runes themselves seemed to shatter upon the walls themselves.

All they saw, when the light cleared, was Raven kneeling, sobbing over Beast Boy's body.

Robin was the first to speak. "Raven? Are you-"

"I killed him," Raven whispered. "I killed-"

"No you didn't," Beast Boy said weakly. "Geez, Raven, I thought _I _was to be the screwup here."

"Beast Boy! You are alive!" Starfire exclaimed joyfully, as she ran to Beast Boy's side.

"Glad to see you're okay, buddy," Cyborg added, as he walked up.

"Beast Boy," Raven began. "I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"Hey, no sweat. Like everybody keeps telling me, it's not your fault. Nice to see your eyes are back to normal again."

"I'm not complaining," Blackfire said, walking up behind them.

"Blackfire?" Raven asked simply.

"Don't worry, Raven," Blackfire replied, taking the Azerath in her arms and closing her eyes tightly as she caught Raven in a tight embrace. "Trust me, I know how it's like to be power crazy."

"You've had power?" Beast Boy asked in mock incredulity.

"Oh, so you want _me_ to kill you?" Blackfire retorted. Then, more quietly, so only Raven would hear her, "Trust me, Raven, you did the right thing- and I'm not just saying that."

"I know," Raven replied simply-

Footsteps, hundreds of them, faint- but growing in volume. All from the cavern straight ahead of them. "Aw man, don't we ever get a break?" Beast Boy asked as the Titans got into battle stances.

"Guess not. Raven," Robin began, "stay behind us, guard Beast Boy! Cyborg, beside me! Starfire, Blackfire, fly there and get ready!" he said, pointing above the cavern entrance.

"This was quick," Blackfire quipped.

"No time like now," Cyborg replied, readying his ion cannon. "Wait," he said, as his scanners picked up familiar life signs. "Hold your fire guys! It's Aqualad!"

To be more precise, it was Aqualad and a group of Atlanteans who came rushing up to the Titans. "You guys all right?" he asked.

"Some of us," Robin said, looking back at Beast Boy and Raven, "some of us had some pretty close shaves, but on the whole, we're fine."

"You sure? We saw a bright flash come from this… cavern…" he said, noticing the pit for the first time. "Whoa."

"Whoa's the word," Robin agreed. "Come on, let's get out of here- I'll fill you in on the way back."

(scene change)

"Aqualad," Aquaman asked as his son walked up to the bridge. "You said your mission was a success?"

"Yes father," Aqualad said. "Blackfire has been rescued."

"Casualties?"

"Just a few injuries, father. Raven is taking care of them right now."

"Raven? That surface dweller at the research station? What is- how did she get there?"

"That's a long story, father. To tell the truth, I don't really understand it myself."

"Well, it will have to wait." Aquaman turned to the flagship's captain. "I believe we have delayed our plans long enough, don't you, Captain?"

"Yes sir," the captain replied, before turning to his crew. "Is the fleet in position?"

"Yes sir!"

"All right then, open comm channels to the whole fleet!"

"Channels open, sir!"

"Good. To all the ships in the fleet," the captain began, "fire at will! I repeat, fire at will!"

But the crews of the submarines positioned around R'l'yeh did not have to be told twice. The captain's words were barely out of his mouth when the submarines began firing salvo after salvo of torpedoes at the cursed city.

"Sir! Look!" one of the technicians cried out in terror.

"By the Gods!" someone else exclaimed.

A gargantuan clawed arm ploughed out of the sunken city, sand and rubble dropping from it like underwater smoke.

"Don't let up!" Aquaman commanded over the comm channels , when it appeared the submarines' fire had started to falter. "Keep firing! _Keep firing!_"

Galvanized out of their frightened trance, the Atlantean crews immediately started firing again, sending wave after wave of ordnance into the city, while they tried to ignore the increasingly loud (and angry-sounding) roars that penetrated the ocean deeps.

Then, one final salvo as the Atlantean ships launched their last torpedoes-

-and the ruins of R'l'yeh finally fell into the underwater trench they had been built over, and from which the arm had come out from. For a few tense moments, the crews of the fleet watched the hand at the end of the arm spread out as another heart-rending scream echoed through the darkness.

Then the arm clenched, and there was silence.

And somehow the crew knew, even before the massive cheers rang out through the halls of every submarine in the fleet, that their greatest enemy was no more, that Atlantis was finally safe.

"It appears you'll have to find some new monsters to scare your children with, Captain," Aquaman said, patting his friend on the shoulder.


	15. Love's Labors Won

**Chapter Fifteen: Love's Labours Won**

"Hey, Raven."

"Beast Boy," Raven replied, looking up from where she had been sitting, her hands slowly channelling energy into Beast Boy's leg, healing it. "Good to see you're awake."

"Yeah, me too," Beast Boy replied. He looked around. "We're off the submarine already?" he asked, seeing the familiar environment of the Tower infirmary around him as he lay in its bed. Moonlight poured in, the only light in the otherwise dark room.

Raven nodded. "You were asleep and Aquaman didn't really want to bother you, so…"

"Really? I thought Aquaman didn't really like- what'd he call us, 'surface dwellers'?"

"Normally, no," Raven replied, sending another soothing wave into Beast Boy's leg. "But he made an exception for you."

"Me?" Beast Boy asked, surprised. "What'd I do?"

"Save Atlantis," Raven replied nonchalantly. "Or at least, helped a lot."

"Save… Atlantis?" Beast Boy asked, his eyes goggling. "Raven, what did you guys tell him? That I defeated some kinda sea monster, or something?"

"Or something," Raven agreed, smiling. "Don't argue, Beast Boy- in a way, it's true, don't you think?"

"Oh yeah right, like that Ker-too guy was-"

"I'm not talking about Cthulhu," Raven said softly, "I was talking about me."

"Come on, Raven, you weren't that bad."

Raven smiled. "Thanks, Beast Boy."

"No problem," Beast Boy replied. Then, after a few moments, "Raven?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry."

Raven looked up. "Beast Boy-"

"No, Raven, please, just let me say it. I know everybody's been telling me it wasn't my fault- heck, even Legion said so- but if it weren't for me being such a jerk about you and Blackfire, none of this would've happened." He fixed Raven with a piercing, yet sorrowful gaze. "So please, Raven – I'm sorry."

Raven smiled, and lightly stroked Beast Boy's head. "Apology accepted. And Beast Boy?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

" 'Thank you'? For what?" Beast Boy asked.

Raven leaned over and kissed his forehead lightly. "For showing me that sometimes, you have to make sacrifices for the people you love."

"Yeah, um, well," Beast Boy replied, blushing furiously, "you didn't really need me to tell you that."

"Actually, Beast Boy," Raven said slowly, "I think I did." She took his hand in her own. "Thank you."

"Like I said, Raven, no problem."

After that exchange, Beast Boy and Raven fell silent for a few minutes, the only sound being the gentle hum of the infirmary's equipment, and the soothing 'whisper' of Raven's magic as it flowed into Beast Boy's leg. "There," she said finally, pulling her arms away from Beast Boy's leg.

"All good?"

Raven shook her head, albeit with a smile on her face. "I'm sorry, Beast Boy, I managed to heal most of the nerve damage, and helped seal one of your fractures, but

"Thanks, Raven."

Raven moved to walk out the door, when Beast Boy's voice stopped her in the doorway. "Raven?"

"Yes?"

"You… you stay happy, 'kay?"

Raven turned, and gave Beast Boy a small smile. "I will. And Beast Boy?"

"Yeah, Raven?"

"When I said all that about sacrificing for the people I love…"

"Yeah?"

"I wasn't just talking about Blackfire. Just wanted you to know."

(scene change)

Sitting on the roof's edge, the light of the moon shining directly down upon her, Blackfire took in another deep breath, enjoying every moment the cool night air filled her lungs. That was the thing about freedom; it was one of those things that you never really appreciated until you lost it, and when you have it, you never really think about it- then sooner or later you'd have to relearn its value all over again.

She heard footsteps behind her, and turned. Well, here was one aspect of freedom she'd never take for granted again.

"So," she asked Raven, who sat down beside her, "how is he?"

"He's fine," Raven replied. "I did what I can, and his leg would need to heal naturally- but he'll be fine. He just needs some rest. Like you do," she said pointedly.

"Just wanted to see the sky, Raven." She turned to Raven, as if about to ask a question.

"And before you ask," Raven said, anticipating Blackfire's next question, "he doesn't know we're meeting up here- but I don't think he'd mind if he did."

"You sure about that?" Blackfire asked. "Have you been reading his mind?"

"No," Raven replied. "And no remarks about it being a short book, or anything like that."

"Okay," Blackfire laughed, "now I know you're reading _my_ mind." She placed an arm around Raven. "I thought you gave up that kind of power," she joked, tweaking Raven's nose.

Raven didn't answer, instead choosing to place her arms around Blackfire. Drawing Blackfire, close, she let her lips brush against the Tamaranean's lips for a moment, before bringing them together for one soft, long kiss.

"Well," Blackfire said, when their lips finally parted, "we're not flying again. I must be losing my touch."

"Trust me, it's not that," Raven replied, as she lay her head on Blackfire's shoulder.

"Then what?" Blackfire asked, pouting in mock frustration. "I demand an explanation, Raven!"

"Well, my emotions have been really easy to control lately."

"Really?" Blackfire asked. "One bright flash of light did all that?"

Raven shook her head. "No," she replied, "you did."

"Me?"

"You, Beast Boy- everybody," Raven said. "Blackfire, for a long time I was afraid- not just of losing my emotions, but of what else I'd lose if I did. I thought if I lost control of myself- if I let myself become what I became in that pit- I wouldn't just end up losing myself, I'd also lose all the people who I cared about."

"Oh please, Raven," Blackfire chided gently. "Like I'd give up someone who kisses as good as you do."

"I'm serious, Blackfire," Raven said. "The last thing I wanted was the only family I had ever known thinking of me as a monster."

"Not going to happen," Blackfire said, tightening her embrace. "No matter who- or what- you are, Raven, we're never giving up on you. Just don't tell anybody I said that, okay? Last thing _I_ want is everybody I know thinking I've gone soft."

"Blackfire, I think it's too late for that," Raven said, running her fingertips across Blackfire's lips.

"Yeah, well…"

(scene change)

Robin quietly poked his head into the infirmary- "Hey, Robin," Beast Boy said.

"Hey, Beast Boy," Robin said. "Sorry, didn't mean to wake you up."

"Nah, don't sweat it- I'll catch some Z's later. I mean, it's not like I'll be getting out of bed anytime soon."

"Oh," Robin said, looking crestfallen. "Guess it'd be kind of stupid to ask if you were okay, then."

"Actually, Robin…"

"Yes, Beast Boy?"

"I don't think I've ever felt so okay in my entire life."

Robin looked surprised for a moment, but as Beast Boy's words sank in, he smiled.

_I don't think I've ever felt so okay in my entire life,_ Beast Boy had said.

_Well, I don't think you're the only one_, Robin thought, and walked off to his quarters.

The new day was coming, and whatever troubles it would bring, the Titans would face it.

Together.


End file.
